Facile synthesis of silver@carbon nanocable-supported platinum nanoparticles as high-performing electrocatalysts for glycerol oxidation in direct glycerol fuel cells

Novel Ag@C nanocables are successfully synthesized through a hydrothermal self-assembly process, and employed as the support material to fabricate a uniformly distributed Pt nanoparticle electrocatalyst (Pt/Ag@C) for glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR). Electrochemical measurements demonstrate that this Pt/Ag@C catalyst can have both superior electrocatalytic GOR activity and stability, confirming that the Ag@C nanocables should be a great material for supporting the catalyst. Theoretical calculations are also carried out for fundamental understanding of the enhanced catalytic performance of this Pt/Ag@C catalyst. The results show that this Pt/Ag@C catalyst should be a great candidate as the anode catalyst for direct glycerol fuel cells.