Pt nanocrystals grown on three-dimensional architectures made from graphene and MoS2 nanosheets: Highly efficient multifunctional electrocatalysts toward hydrogen evolution and methanol oxidation reactions

Although electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution and methanol oxidation have long been regarded as promising technologies for future energy production and conversion, the incapability of the electrode catalysts poses a major impediment to their large-scale commercialization. Herein, we present a facile co-assembly approach to the fabrication of Pt nanocrystals grown on 3D architectures built from ultrathin graphene and MoS2 nanosheets. By virtue of their unique textural features, such as large specific surface area, 3D cross-linked porous framework, homogeneous distribution of Pt nanoparticles, and excellent electron conductivity, the resulting Pt/graphene-MoS2 architectures possess multifunctional catalytic activities toward hydrogen evolution and methanol oxidation reactions, accompanied by high durability and strong poison tolerance, which significantly outperform those for conventional Pt/carbon black, Pt/graphene, and Pt/MoS2 catalysts. It is believed that such a simple bottom-up design concept can open up new possibilities for the up-scale synthesis of various 3D hybrid architectures with metals or metal oxides for energy-related applications. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.