Pt–MoO 3 –RGO ternary hybrid hollow nanorod arrays as high-performance catalysts for methanol electrooxidation

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Vol. 4; no. 5; pp. 1923 - 1930
• Main Authors: Wang, An-Liang, Liang, Chao-Lun, Lu, Xue-Feng, Tong, Ye-Xiang, Li, Gao-Ren
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• ISSN: 2050-7488; 2050-7496
• DOI: 10.1039/C5TA08585C

Here we design and synthesize novel Pt–MoO 3 –RGO (reduced graphene oxide) ternary hybrid hollow nanorod arrays (HNRAs) as anode catalysts for methanol electrooxidation. These fabricated Pt–MoO 3 –RGO HNRAs have highly dispersive MoO 3 , RGO, and Pt nanocrystals (∼3 nm), which leads to rich heterogeneous interfaces and strong synergistic effects among Pt, MoO 3 and RGO. The Pt–MoO 3 –RGO HNRAs exhibit a high electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) of 71.20 m 2 per (g, Pt), which is much higher than those of Pt–MoO 3 HNRAs (34.23 m 2 per (g, Pt)) and commercial Pt/C catalysts (52.89 m 2 per (g, Pt)). Because of the strong synergistic effects and structural advantages, these Pt–MoO 3 –RGO HNRAs show much enhanced electrocatalytic activity, durability and CO anti-poisoning ability compared with Pt–MoO 3 HNRAs and commercial Pt/C catalysts. Besides, the electrocatalytic activity of Pt–MoO 3 –RGO HNRAs also exceeds those of many Pt-based catalysts reported in the literature. Our finding demonstrates the importance of the interfacial and structural effects in harnessing the true electrocatalytic potential of Pt-based catalysts and will open up new strategies for the development of high-performance catalysts for methanol electrooxidation.