Atomically ordered non-precious Co3Ta intermetallic nanoparticles as high-performance catalysts for hydrazine electrooxidation

Guang Feng, Li An, Biao Li, Yuxuan Zuo, Jin Song, Fanghua Ning, Ning Jiang, Xiaopeng Cheng, Yuefei Zhang and Dingguo Xia ()
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Guang Feng: College of Engineering, Peking University
Li An: College of Engineering, Peking University
Biao Li: College of Engineering, Peking University
Yuxuan Zuo: College of Engineering, Peking University
Jin Song: College of Engineering, Peking University
Fanghua Ning: College of Engineering, Peking University
Ning Jiang: College of Engineering, Peking University
Xiaopeng Cheng: Beijing University of Technology
Yuefei Zhang: Beijing University of Technology
Dingguo Xia: College of Engineering, Peking University

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Nano-ordered intermetallic compounds have generated great interest in fuel cell applications. However, the synthesis of non-preciousearly transition metal intermetallic nanoparticles remains a formidable challenge owing to the extremely oxyphilic nature and very negative reduction potentials. Here, we have successfully synthesized non-precious Co3Ta intermetallic nanoparticles, with uniform size of 5 nm. Atomic structural characterizations and X-ray absorption fine structure measurements confirm the atomically ordered intermetallic structure. As electrocatalysts for the hydrazine oxidation reaction, Co3Ta nanoparticles exhibit an onset potential of −0.086 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode) and two times higher specific activity relative to commercial Pt/C (+0.06 V), demonstrating the top-level performance among reported electrocatalysts. The Co-Ta bridge sites are identified as the location of the most active sites thanks to density functional theory calculations. The activation energy of the hydrogen dissociation step decreases significantly upon N2H4 adsorption on the Co-Ta bridge active sites, contributing to the significantly enhanced activity.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12509-7

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