Hybrid of carbon-supported Pt nanoparticles and three dimensional graphene aerogel as high stable electrocatalyst for methanol electrooxidation

Three-dimensional (3D) structured Pt/C/graphene aerogel (Pt/C/GA) hybrid as a remarkable high stability electrocatalyst is synthesized through a facile and green hydrothermal process. Thanks to the unique 3D graphene framework structure, Pt/C/GA hybrid catalyst demonstrated enhanced stability towards methanol electrooxidation with no decrease of electrocatalytic activity. Besides, Pt/C/GA hybrid catalyst also exhibits a significantly enhanced stability to scavenge crossover methanol under the high potential in acid solution compared with the standard Pt/C catalyst: Pt/C catalyst lost nearly 40% of its initial activity after 1000 cyclic voltammetry cycles, by contrast, only 16% for Pt/C/GA. Moreover, it is noteworthy that after 200 cycles, the mass activity of Pt/C/GA is always much higher than that of Pt/C. A significant stability enhancement is achieved due to the unique 3D macroporous graphene structure as well as the efficient assembly between the Pt/C catalyst and graphene aerogel. Importantly, our synthetic strategy can be easily applied to the commercial PtRu/C catalyst to improve its durability. This simple, convenient and green synthetic method highlights the potential in fabrication of high durable electrocatalyst for fuel cell applications. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.