Journal
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
Volume 11, Issue 46, Pages 43081-43092Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b12783
Keywords
electroless plating; successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction; titania-supported nanoparticles; formic acid electro-oxidation; photoelectrocatalysis; fuel cells
Funding
- DFG [MO 3010/3-1, AL 560/21-1]
- European Research Council (ERC) Horizon 2020 Program [805359-FOXON]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Many nanofabrication processes require sophisticated equipment, elevated temperature, vacuum or specific atmospheric conditions, templates, and exotic chemicals, which severely hamper their implementation in real-world applications. In this study, we outline a fully wet-chemical procedure for equipping a 3D carbon felt (CF) substrate with a multifunctional, titania nanospike-supported Pt-Pd nanoparticle (Pt-Pd-TiO2@CF) layer in a facile and scalable manner. The nanostructure, composition, chemical speciation, and formation of the material was meticulously investigated, evidencing the conformal coating of the substrate with a roughened layer of nanocrystalline rutile spikes by chemical bath deposition from Ti3+ solutions. The spikes are densely covered by bimetallic nanoparticles of 4.4 +/- 1.1 nm in size, which were produced by autocatalytic Pt deposition onto Pd seeds introduced by Sn2+ ionic layer adsorption and reaction. The as-synthesized nanocomposite was applied to the (photo)electro-oxidation of formic acid (FA), exhibiting a superior performance compared to Pt-plated, Pd-seeded CF (Pt-Pd@CF) and commercial Pt-C, indicating the promoting electrocatalytic role of the TiO2 support. Upon UV-Vis illumination, the performance of the Pt-Pd-TiO2@CF electrode is remarkably increased (22-fold), generating a current density of 110 mA cm(-2), distinctly outperforming titania-free Pt-Pd@CF (5 mA cm(-2)) and commercial Pt-C (6 mA cm(-2)) reference catalysts. In addition, the Pt-Pd-TiO2@CF showed a much better stability, characterized by a very high poisoning tolerance for in situ-generated CO intermediates, whose formation is hindered in the presence of TiO2. This overall performance boost is attributed to a dual enhancement mechanism (-30% electrocatalytic and similar to 70% photoelectrocatalytic). The photogenerated electrons from the TiO2 conduction band enrich the electron density of the Pt nanoparticles, promoting the generation of active oxygen species on their surfaces from adsorbed oxygen and water molecules, which facilitate the direct FA electro-oxidation into CO2.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available