Systhesis Of Electro-catalysts Based On Gold Nanorods And Their Electrocatalytic Performance Of Formic Acid Electrooxidation

Fuel cells are clean and efficient devices.They can transform chemical energy into electrical energy.So they play important roles in the sustainable energy.Direct formic acid fuel cells(DFAFCs)are a class of fuel cells.In these devices,the fuel is formic acid.There are many advantages for DFAFCs,such as non-toxic and safety,high energy density,low permeability.Catalysts are vital part in fuel cells.In this paper,unique Pt/Co-Au dumbbell-like nanorods and Au@Pt/Co core-shell nanorods are obtained using sample liquid phase synthesis.To improve the efficiency of the catalysts and low cost,the hollow nanostructures are obtained,at the same time,their mechnism is investigated roughly.Catalytic properties of those catalysts for formic acid are tested.The main results are summarized as follows:1.High-quality gold nanorods are used to be templates.Pt/Co-Au dumbbell-like nanorods and Au@Pt/Co core-shell nanorods using two kinds of surfactants are obtained at room temperature by water bath synthesis.Pt/Co-Au dumbbell-like nanorods are applied to the oxidation of formic acid and show excellent properties than Au@Pt/Co core-shell nanorods and Pt/C.Reasons may be the electron transfer between Au and Pt,heteroatom effect from Co,the irregular surfaces due to the top of dumbbell-like nanorods and interface effect between Au and Pt.2.PtAuAgCo hollow nanostructures are obtained when gold nanorods,AA,K2PtCl4,CoCl2,KI and AgNO3 are involved.The amount of species of surfactants,KI and K2PtCl4 are main effect factors.Steric hinderance from side of nanorods hinder the corrosive process in CTAB+5-BrSA,but hinderance may not obvious in CTAB,so the hollow nanostructures may be sufficient.I-may absorb the Au(111),and I-has stronger complexing capacity than Br-.Then the atoms on Au(111)are inactive.Lateral reaction may be accelerated.The above conclusion show oxidation of PtBr42-declines with the decreasing K2PtCl4,resulting few hollow nanostructures.PtAuAgM(M=Fe,Cu,Ni)hollow nanostructures are also obtained.The electrocatalytic activities of hollow nanostructures are superior higher than Pt/C.