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Facile single-step preparation of Pt/N-graphene catalysts with improved methanol electrooxidation activity

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Abstract

In this work, we describe a facile single-step approach for the simultaneous reduction of graphene oxide to graphene, functional doping of graphene with nitrogen, and loading of the doped graphene with well-dispersed platinum (Pt) nanoparticles using a solvent mixture of ethylene glycol and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone. The as-prepared Pt/nitrogen-doped graphene (N-graphene) catalysts are characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy while the electrocatalytic methanol oxidation properties of the catalysts are evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Compared with an updoped Pt/graphene control catalyst, the Pt/N-graphene catalyst shows a narrower particle size distribution and improved catalytic performance. Considering the facile, green and effective single-step synthetic process for the Pt/N-graphene catalyst, the results are promising for the potential application of these materials in emerging fuel cell technologies.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21003075), the Basic Research Program (Natural Science Foundation) of Jiangsu Province of China (No. BK2010558), the National Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (No. 51025209), and the US Army Research Office under grant #W911NF-09-1-0528.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Materials Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Technology, Nanjing, 210009, People’s Republic of China

    Yuanyuan Zhao, Yingke Zhou, Bin Xiong, Jie Wang, Xia Chen & Zongping Shao

  2. State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Refractories and Ceramics, College of Materials and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430081, People’s Republic of China

    Yingke Zhou

  3. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, 80401, USA

    Ryan O’Hayre

Authors
  1. Yuanyuan Zhao
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  2. Yingke Zhou
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  3. Bin Xiong
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  4. Jie Wang
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  5. Xia Chen
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  6. Ryan O’Hayre
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  7. Zongping Shao
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yingke Zhou or Zongping Shao.

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Zhao, Y., Zhou, Y., Xiong, B. et al. Facile single-step preparation of Pt/N-graphene catalysts with improved methanol electrooxidation activity. J Solid State Electrochem 17, 1089–1098 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-012-1968-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-012-1968-0

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