Journal
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
Volume 7, Issue 12, Pages 6590-6595Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/am508830h
Keywords
electrocatalysis; methanol oxidation; Pt nanoparticle; silica hollow spheres; gamma-radiolysis; direct methanol fuel cell
Funding
- University for Potential Excellence (UPE) II
- University Grant Commission (UGC)
- Government of India
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Electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol on silica hollow spheres, loaded with platinum nanoparticles (Pt-SiO2-HS), is reported. The functionalized hollow silica spheres were prepared by the surfactant (lauryl ester of tyrosine) template-assisted synthesis. These spheres were loaded with platinum nanoparticles by gamma-radiolysis. Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses confirmed presence of Si and Pt in the composite. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy showed the formation of uniformly deposited Pt nanoparticles over the hollow spheres with a predominant Pt(111) lattice plane on the surface. In spite of the poor conducting nature of the silica support, the oxidation potential and current density per unit mass for methanol oxidation were noted to be ca. 0.72 V vs NHE and 270 mA mg(-1), respectively, which are among the best values reported in its class. The composite did not show any sign of a degradation even after repeated use. In fact, the anodic current was found to increase under constant polarization, which is attributed to a facile reaction between adsorbed CO with a surface hydroxyl group present on the silica support. These results are in favor of Pt-SiO2-HS as a promising electrocatalyst material in the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) applications.
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