Phosphorus-doped graphene support to enhance electrocatalysis of methanol oxidation reaction on platinum nanoparticles

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2017.08.058
• Publication Date: 2017-09-01T20:50:33Z
• Authors: Meichen An; Chunyu Du; Lei Du; Yongrong Sun; Yajing Wang; Cheng Chen; Guokang Han; Geping Yin; Yunzhi Gao
• Keywords: Platinum nanoparticles; Thermal Stability

Abstract Phosphorus is incorporated into graphene (PG) by thermal treating method, which is further employed as supports for Pt nanoparticles. The as-obtained Pt/PG catalyst exhibits over 2.4 times enhanced methanol electrooxidation activity compared with Pt/C, as well as desirable stability and remarkably improved CO-tolerance. These improvements are attributed to not only uniformly dispersed Pt nanoparticles that are anchored by introduced defects in PG, but also negative d-band center shift and weakened CO adsorption on Pt caused by strong interactions between Pt and PG. Consequently, PG is a promising support material for Pt-based catalysts towards methanol electrooxidation.