Layer Orientation-Engineered Two-Dimensional Platinum Ditelluride for High-Performance Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells

Platinum (Pt) has been considered the best catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) based-direct liquid fuel cells (DLFCs). However, its high cost and the mixed potential issue have been obstacles for commercialization. Herein, we report a new Pt-based catalyst of two-dimensionally layered platinum ditelluride (2D PtTe2) with mixed layer orientation, termed M-PtTe2. This material constitutes vertically- and horizontally aligned 2D PtTe2 layers, which synergistically boost the ORR reaction; the former promotes O-2 adsorption and electron transfer, while the latter boosts O-O bond breaking and O-H bond coupling. The M-PtTe2 synthesized on nanostructured carbon papers significantly surpasses the ORR performances of commercial Pt/C, yielding 2.4-times higher mass activity in half-cell and 2-times higher maximum power density in actual devices. Furthermore, it exhibits extremely low alcohol adsorption energies, unveiling unprecedented suitability for alcohol tolerant DLFCs. This new understanding of the role of the 2D layer orientation in ORR kinetics and thermodynamics suggests useful catalyst design principles.

Automated summary

The new Pt-based catalyst M-PtTe2, composed of vertically- and horizontally aligned 2D PtTe2 layers, shows significantly improved ORR performance and extremely low alcohol adsorption energies, making it highly suitable for alcohol tolerant DLFCs. This new understanding of the role of 2D layer orientation in ORR kinetics and thermodynamics suggests useful catalyst design principles.