Cu@PtRu Core–Shell Nanostructured Electrocatalysts Anchored on Reduced Graphene Oxide toward Methanol Oxidation

Walber dos Santos Gomes (), Rodrigo della Noce, Tamires de Sousa de Matos, Flávio Vargas Andrade, Fábio Alberto Molfetta and José Pio Iúdice de Souza
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Walber dos Santos Gomes: Faculdade de Química, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Rodrigo della Noce: Faculdade de Química, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Tamires de Sousa de Matos: Faculdade de Química, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Flávio Vargas Andrade: Faculdade de Ciências Exatas e Tecnológica, Universidade Federal do Pará, Abaetetuba 68440-000, Brazil
Fábio Alberto Molfetta: Faculdade de Química, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
José Pio Iúdice de Souza: Faculdade de Química, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-110, Brazil

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 18, 1-13

Abstract: This work reports the influence of a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) support on the catalytic performance of Cu@PtRu/rGO electrocatalysts toward methanol oxidation in an acidic medium. These electrocatalysts are synthesized via a two-step reduction method; the first step utilizes ethylene glycol for the reduction of Cu 2+ ions, forming Cu/rGO. In the second step, spontaneous redox reactions take place, in a process known as galvanic displacement, where the Pt 2+ and Ru 3+ species are reduced to form PtRu layers, and the copper is partially oxidized to the solution. Then, the Cu@PtRu/rGO core–shell is produced, comprising Cu in the inner structure (core) and PtRu on the outer part (shell). To compare the catalytic performance of the prepared nanocatalysts (NCs), Pt/C, PtRu/C, and Cu@PtRu/C are also synthesized on Vulcan XC-72R carbon. All catalysts are characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA) are employed to measure the electrochemical performance. The core–shell/rGO combination is superior in catalytic activity to the traditional Pt/C, PtRu/C, and Cu@PtRu/C catalysts for the methanol oxidation reaction. These results suggest that Cu@PtRu/rGO exhibits a high bulk activity for methanol electrooxidation, a high stability, and a high tolerance to CO poisoning, meaning it is possible to reduce the platinum loading in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs).

Keywords: electrocatalysts; core–shell; reduced graphene oxide (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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