The Facile Deposition of Pt Nanoparticles on Reduced Graphite Oxide in Tunable Aryl Alkyl Ionic Liquids for ORR Catalysts

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 27; no. 3; p. 1018
• Main Authors: Woitassek, Dennis, Lerch, Swantje, Jiang, Wulv, Shviro, Meital, Roitsch, Stefan, Strassner, Thomas, Janiak, Christoph
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 02.02.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Aromatic compounds; Atoms & subatomic particles; Carbon; Catalysts; Chemical reduction; Competitive materials; Decomposition; Electrochemistry; Electrode materials; Graphite; Ionic liquids; microwave; Nanoparticles; oxygen reduction reaction; Oxygen reduction reactions; Platinum; reduced graphite oxide; Thermogravimetric analysis; Transmission electron microscopy; Voltammetry; ionic liquid; platinum; nanoparticles; electrochemistry; reduced graphite oxide; oxygen reduction reaction; microwave; tunable aryl alkyl ionic liquid
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules27031018

In this study, we present the facile formation of platinum nanoparticles (Pt-NPs) on reduced graphite oxide (rGO) (Pt-NP@rGO) by microwave-induced heating of the organometallic precursor ((MeCp)PtMe in different tunable aryl alkyl ionic liquids (TAAIL). In the absence of rGO, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals the formation of dense aggregates of Pt-NPs, with primary particle sizes of 2 to 6 nm. In contrast, in the Pt-NP@rGO samples, Pt-NPs are homogeneously distributed on the rGO, without any aggregation. Pt-NP@rGO samples are used as electrode materials for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), which was assessed by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). The electrochemical surface area (ECSA) and mass-specific activity (MA) increase up to twofold, compared with standard Pt/C 60%, making Pt-NP@rGO a competitive material for ORR.