skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Tailoring the composition of ultrathin, ternary alloy PtRuFe nanowires for the methanol oxidation reaction and formic acid oxidation reaction

Journal Article · · Energy & Environmental Science
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/c4ee02162b· OSTI ID:1182473
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. State Univ. of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY (United States)
  2. State Univ. of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY (United States); Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

In the search for alternatives to conventional Pt electrocatalysts, we have synthesized ultrathin, ternary PtRuFe nanowires (NW), possessing different chemical compositions in order to probe their CO tolerance as well as electrochemical activity as a function of composition for both (i) the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and (ii) the formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR). As-prepared ‘multifunctional’ ternary NW catalysts exhibited both higher MOR and FAOR activity as compared with binary Pt₇Ru₃ NW, monometallic Pt NW, and commercial catalyst control samples. In terms of synthetic novelty, we utilized a sustainably mild, ambient wet-synthesis method never previously applied to the fabrication of crystalline, pure ternary systems in order to fabricate ultrathin, homogeneous alloy PtRuFe NWs with a range of controlled compositions. Thus, these NWs were subsequently characterized using a suite of techniques including XRD, TEM, SAED, and EDAX in order to verify not only the incorporation of Ru and Fe into the Pt lattice but also their chemical homogeneity, morphology, as well as physical structure and integrity. Lastly, these NWs were electrochemically tested in order to deduce the appropriateness of conventional explanations such as (i) the bi-functional mechanism as well as (ii) the ligand effect to account for our MOR and FAOR reaction data. Specifically, methanol oxidation appears to be predominantly influenced by the Ru content, whereas formic acid oxidation is primarily impacted by the corresponding Fe content within the ternary metal alloy catalyst itself.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC00112704
OSTI ID:
1182473
Report Number(s):
BNL-107165-2014-JA; EESNBY; R&D Project: PM037; KC0201030
Journal Information:
Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 8, Issue 1; ISSN 1754-5692
Publisher:
Royal Society of ChemistryCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 241 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (52)

Development of enhanced materials for direct-methanol fuel cell by combinatorial method and nanoscience journal September 2004
Methanol oxidation and direct methanol fuel cells: a selective review journal January 1999
Effect of transition metals (Ni, Sn and Mo) in Pt5Ru4M alloy ternary electrocatalyst on methanol electro-oxidation journal May 2010
Nanoporous PtCo Surface Alloy Architecture with Enhanced Properties for Methanol Electrooxidation journal February 2012
Ordered nanoporous arrays of carbon supporting high dispersions of platinum nanoparticles journal July 2001
A novel route for preparation of PtRuMe (Me=Fe, Co, Ni) and their catalytic performance for methanol electrooxidation journal March 2009
The development of mixture, alloy, and core-shell nanocatalysts with nanomaterial supports for energy conversion in low-temperature fuel cells journal September 2013
Methanol, ethanol and ethylene glycol electro-oxidation at Pt and Pt–Ru catalysts electrodeposited over oxidized carbon nanotubes journal July 2012
Tailoring and structure of PtRu nanoparticles supported on functionalized carbon for DMFC applications: New evidence of the hydrous ruthenium oxide phase journal May 2009
Preparation of PtRuNi/C electrocatalysts by an alcohol-reduction process for electro-oxidation of methanol journal January 2010
Effects of Alloyed and Oxide Phases on Methanol Oxidation of Pt−Ru/C Nanocatalysts of the Same Particle Size journal April 2009
Methanol Electrooxidation on PtRu Bulk Alloys and Carbon-Supported PtRu Nanoparticle Catalysts: A Quantitative DEMS Study journal July 2009
In-Situ ATR-FTIR Spectroscopic Study of Electro-oxidation of Methanol and Adsorbed CO at Pt−Ru Alloy journal February 2004
Carbon monoxide and methanol oxidation on potential-modified Pt–Ru/C electrocatalyst for polymer electrolyte fuel cells journal June 2012
Segmented Pt/Ru, Pt/Ni, and Pt/RuNi Nanorods as Model Bifunctional Catalysts for Methanol Oxidation journal January 2006
Novel Pt–Ru–Ni/C Catalysts for Methanol Electro-oxidation in Acid Medium journal January 2006
Simple Replacement Reaction for the Preparation of Ternary Fe 1– x PtRu x Nanocrystals with Superior Catalytic Activity in Methanol Oxidation Reaction journal June 2012
High Throughput Experimental and Theoretical Predictive Screening of Materials − A Comparative Study of Search Strategies for New Fuel Cell Anode Catalysts journal October 2003
Highly active PtRuFe/C catalyst for methanol electro-oxidation journal September 2007
Performance of ternary PtRuRh/C electrocatalyst with varying Pt:Ru:Rh ratio for methanol electro-oxidation journal August 2006
Enhanced electrochemical stability of PtRuAu/C catalyst synthesized by radiolytic process journal March 2012
Synthesis of Ultrathin FePtPd Nanowires and Their Use as Catalysts for Methanol Oxidation Reaction journal October 2011
One-dimensional noble metal electrocatalysts: a promising structural paradigm for direct methanolfuelcells journal January 2011
RhPt Flowerlike Bimetallic Nanocrystals with Tunable Composition as Superior Electrocatalysts for Methanol Oxidation journal May 2014
Ultrathin Nanowires-A Materials Chemistry Perspective journal March 2009
Pt45Ru45M10/C (M=Fe, Co, and Ni) catalysts for methanol electro-oxidation journal March 2008
Designing Enhanced One-Dimensional Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction: Probing Size- and Composition-Dependent Electrocatalytic Behavior in Noble Metal Nanowires journal October 2012
Synthesis of Platinum Nanowire Networks Using a Soft Template journal December 2007
Ultrathin Pt-Based Alloy Nanowire Networks: Synthesized by CTAB Assistant Two-Phase Water−Chloroform Micelles journal November 2009
Probing Ultrathin One-Dimensional Pd–Ni Nanostructures As Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalysts journal July 2014
Enhanced Electrocatalytic Performance of Processed, Ultrathin, Supported Pd–Pt Core–Shell Nanowire Catalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction journal June 2011
Ambient Synthesis of High-Quality Ruthenium Nanowires and the Morphology-Dependent Electrocatalytic Performance of Platinum-Decorated Ruthenium Nanowires and Nanoparticles in the Methanol Oxidation Reaction journal June 2013
Formation of carbon-supported PtM alloys for low temperature fuel cells: a review journal February 2003
Effect of Surface Composition on Electronic Structure, Stability, and Electrocatalytic Properties of Pt-Transition Metal Alloys:  Pt-Skin versus Pt-Skeleton Surfaces journal July 2006
Enhancement of the Electroreduction of Oxygen on Pt Alloys with Fe, Ni, and Co journal January 1999
Hierarchical Nanoporous PtFe Alloy with Multimodal Size Distributions and Its Catalytic Performance toward Methanol Electrooxidation journal January 2012
Lattice-strain control of the activity in dealloyed core–shell fuel cell catalysts journal April 2010
Role of Electronic Property of Pt and Pt Alloys on Electrocatalytic Reduction of Oxygen journal January 1998
High CO tolerance of Pt/Ru nanocatalyst: Insight from first principles calculations journal March 2009
Ultra-low platinum content fuel cell anode electrocatalyst with a long-term performance stability journal September 2004
Preparation of Pt-Ru-Ni ternary nanoparticles by microemulsion and electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation journal February 2007
The role of electronic properties of Pt and Pt alloys for enhanced reformate electro-oxidation in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells journal September 2013
Theoretical Study of Methanol Oxidation on the PtAu(111) Bimetallic Surface: CO Pathway vs Non-CO Pathway journal January 2012
Decomposition pathways of methanol on the PtAu(111) bimetallic surface: A first-principles study journal February 2008
Bifunctional anode catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells journal January 2012
Morphology-dependent activity of Pt nanocatalysts for ethanol oxidation in acidic media: Nanowires versus nanoparticles journal November 2011
Enhanced electrochemical activity of Pt nanowire network electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation reaction of fuel cells journal January 2011
The role of anisotropic structure and its aspect ratio: high-loading carbon nanospheres supported Pt nanowires with high performance toward methanol electrooxidation journal January 2012
Ultrathin and Ultralong Single-Crystal Platinum Nanowire Assemblies with Highly Stable Electrocatalytic Activity journal June 2013
Mechanisms of Carbon Monoxide and Methanol Oxidation at Single-crystal Electrodes journal October 2007
On the mechanism of the direct pathway for formic acid oxidation at a Pt(111) electrode journal January 2013
Pt45Ru45M10/C (M = Fe, Co, and Ni) Catalysts for Methanol Electro-Oxidation journal March 2007

Cited By (54)

Tuning Nanowires and Nanotubes for Efficient Fuel-Cell Electrocatalysis journal September 2016
Aqueous Synthesis of Ultrathin Platinum/Non-Noble Metal Alloy Nanowires for Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Activity journal July 2018
Ternary CoPtAu Nanoparticles as a General Catalyst for Highly Efficient Electro-oxidation of Liquid Fuels journal July 2019
Enhanced Dual Fuel Cell Electrocatalysis with Trimetallic PtPdCo Mesoporous Nanoparticles journal September 2018
An Electrocatalyst Based on Carbon Nanotubes Coated with Poly(vinylpyrrolidone) Shows a High Tolerance to Carbon Monoxide in a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell journal December 2015
Interfacial Engineering in PtNiCo/NiCoS Nanowires for Enhanced Electrocatalysis and Electroanalysis journal December 2019
Facile Synthesis of a Porous Pd/Cu Alloy and its Enhanced Performance toward Methanol and Formic Acid Electrooxidation journal July 2017
Pt/Co-Au Dumbbell-Like Nanorods for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Performance of Formic Acid Electrooxidation journal March 2018
Binding maps for the study and prediction of bimetallic catalyst surface reactions: The case of methanol oxidation journal February 2018
Small-sized tungsten nitride anchoring into a 3D CNT-rGO framework as a superior bifunctional catalyst for the methanol oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions journal December 2015
Pd-Ag alloy hollow nanostructures with interatomic charge polarization for enhanced electrocatalytic formic acid oxidation journal March 2016
1-Naphthol induced Pt3Ag nanocorals as bifunctional cathode and anode catalysts of direct formic acid fuel cells journal October 2018
One-Pot Seedless Aqueous Design of Metal Nanostructures for Energy Electrocatalytic Applications journal September 2018
Microwave synthesis of MWCNT-supported PtRuNi catalysts and their electrocatalytic activity for direct methanol fuel cells journal January 2020
Iron-containing platinum-based catalysts as cathode and anode materials for low-temperature acidic fuel cells: a review journal January 2016
Fabrication of Pd/P nanoparticle networks with high activity for methanol oxidation journal January 2016
Designed multimetallic Pd nanosponges with enhanced electrocatalytic activity for ethylene glycol and glycerol oxidation journal January 2016
Rational design of Pt–Ni–Co ternary alloy nanoframe crystals as highly efficient catalysts toward the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction journal January 2016
Catalytic activities for methanol oxidation on ultrathin CuPt 3 wavy nanowires with/without smart polymer journal January 2016
Pd-P nanoparticles supported on P x O y -incorporated carbon nanotubes for enhanced methanol oxidation in an alkaline medium journal January 2017
Facile synthesis of a molybdenum phosphide (MoP) nanocomposite Pt support for high performance methanol oxidation journal January 2017
The in situ growth of ultrathin Fcc -NiPt nanocrystals on graphene for methanol and formic acid oxidation journal January 2018
Carboxyethyltin and transition metal co-functionalized tungstoantimonates composited with polypyrrole for enhanced electrocatalytic methanol oxidation journal January 2019
Trimetallic PtPdCu nanowires as an electrocatalyst for methanol and formic acid oxidation journal January 2018
A graphitic carbon nitride–titania nanocomposite as a promising catalyst support for electro-oxidation of methanol journal January 2019
Ionic-exchange immobilization of ultra-low loading palladium on a rGO electro-catalyst for high activity formic acid oxidation journal January 2018
Adding refractory 5d transition metal W into PtCo system: an advanced ternary alloy for efficient oxygen reduction reaction journal January 2018
Robust synthesis of ultrathin Au–Ag nanowires as a high-surface-area, synergistic substrate for constructing efficient Pt-based catalysts journal January 2018
Carbon-thin-layer protected WP with no passivation supported on acid-treated expanded graphite as efficient Pt Co-catalysts for methanol oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions journal January 2018
Trimetallic palladium–copper–cobalt alloy wavy nanowires improve ethanol electrooxidation in alkaline medium journal January 2019
Ultrafine PtCuRh nanowire catalysts with alleviated poisoning effect for efficient ethanol oxidation journal January 2019
Structurally ordered PtSn intermetallic nanoparticles supported on ATO for efficient methanol oxidation reaction journal January 2019
The preparation and mechanistic study of highly effective PtSnRu ternary nanorod catalysts toward the ethanol oxidation reaction journal January 2019
Synergistic effects of platinum–cerium carbonate hydroxides–reduced graphene oxide on enhanced durability for methanol electro-oxidation journal January 2019
Pt–Ni–P nanocages with surface porosity as efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction and methanol oxidation journal January 2019
Engineering one-dimensional and hierarchical PtFe alloy assemblies towards durable methanol electrooxidation journal January 2019
Thermally driven interfacial diffusion synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon confined trimetallic Pt 3 CoRu composites for the methanol oxidation reaction journal January 2019
Anodic engineering towards high-performance direct methanol fuel cells with non-precious-metal cathode catalysts journal January 2020
Hollow PtCu nanorings with high performance for the methanol oxidation reaction and their enhanced durability by using trace Ir journal January 2020
Tri-metallic PtPdAu mesoporous nanoelectrocatalysts journal April 2018
Facile dual tuning of PtPdP nanoparticles by metal–nonmetal co-incorporation and dendritic engineering for enhanced formic acid oxidation electrocatalysis journal October 2019
Design of ultrathin Pt-Mo-Ni nanowire catalysts for ethanol electrooxidation journal August 2017
Modulating Catalytic Activity and Durability of PtFe Alloy Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction Through Controlled Carbon Shell Formation journal October 2019
Ultrathin PtNiM (M = Rh, Os, and Ir) Nanowires as Efficient Fuel Oxidation Electrocatalytic Materials journal February 2019
Aqueous Synthesis of Ultrathin Platinum/Non-Noble Metal Alloy Nanowires for Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Activity journal July 2018
Ternary CoPtAu Nanoparticles as a General Catalyst for Highly Efficient Electro‐oxidation of Liquid Fuels journal July 2019
A concise guide to sustainable PEMFCs: recent advances in improving both oxygen reduction catalysts and proton exchange membranes journal January 2015
Concave and duck web-like platinum nanopentagons with enhanced electrocatalytic properties for formic acid oxidation journal January 2016
Composition-controllable synthesis of defect-rich PtPdCu nanoalloys with hollow cavities as superior electrocatalysts for alcohol oxidation journal January 2017
Pt nanoparticles anchored over Te nanorods as a novel and promising catalyst for methanol oxidation reaction journal January 2019
Pt and RhPt dendritic nanowires and their potential application as anodic catalysts for fuel cells journal January 2019
Biaxially strained PtPb/Pt core/shell nanoplate boosts oxygen reduction catalysis journal December 2016
Synergistic Supports Beyond Carbon Black for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Anodes journal September 2018
Ultrathin Metallic Nanowire-Based Architectures as High-Performing Electrocatalysts journal March 2018