Synthesis, Shape Control, and Methanol Electro-oxidation Properties of Pt–Zn Alloy and Pt3Zn Intermetallic Nanocrystals

We report the first synthesis of highly monodisperse Pt3Zn nanocrystals (NCs). Shape-controlled synthesis generates cubic and spherical Pt–Zn NCs. Reaction temperature is the key to incorporate Zn into Pt, even in the absence of a strong reducing agent. The Pt–Zn NCs are active toward methanol oxida...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inACS nano Vol. 6; no. 6; pp. 5642 - 5647
Main Authors Kang, Yijin, Pyo, Jun Beom, Ye, Xingchen, Gordon, Thomas R, Murray, Christopher B
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Chemical Society 26.06.2012
Subjects
Alloys - chemistry
Electric Conductivity
Macromolecular Substances - chemistry
Materials Testing
Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry
Methanol - chemistry
Molecular Conformation
Nanoparticles - chemistry
Nanoparticles - ultrastructure
Oxidation-Reduction
Particle Size
Platinum - chemistry
Surface Properties
Zinc - chemistry
nanocrystal
platinum
intermetallic
shape control
methanol oxidation
zinc
electrocatalysis
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Summary:We report the first synthesis of highly monodisperse Pt3Zn nanocrystals (NCs). Shape-controlled synthesis generates cubic and spherical Pt–Zn NCs. Reaction temperature is the key to incorporate Zn into Pt, even in the absence of a strong reducing agent. The Pt–Zn NCs are active toward methanol oxidation, with the spherical NCs exhibiting higher activity than the cubic NCs. The Pt–Zn alloy phase can be transformed into the Pt3Zn intermetallic phase, upon annealing. The intermetallic Pt3Zn shows better performance than the alloy phase Pt–Zn. Besides the activity toward methanol oxidation, Pt–Zn NCs show excellent poisoning tolerance. With activities comparable to the commercial Pt catalyst, enhanced poisoning tolerance and lower cost, Pt–Zn and Pt3Zn NCs are a promising new family of catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells.
ISSN:1936-0851
1936-086X
DOI:10.1021/nn301583g