Metal-organic interface engineering for boosting the electroactivity of Pt nanodendrites for hydrogen production

• 来源期刊: 能源化学
• 年，卷（期）: 2020,（12）
• 页码范围: 105-112
• 页数: 8页
• 语种: 英文

摘要

Recently,the surface chemical functionalization and morphology control of precious metal nanostruc-tures have been recognized as two efficient strategies for improving their electroactivity and/or selectiv-ity.In this work,1,10-phenanthroline monohydrate(PM)functionalized Pt nanodendrites(Pt-NDs)on carbon cloth(CC)(denoted as PM@Pt-NDs/CC)and polyethylenimine(PEI)functionalized Pt-NDs on CC(denoted as PEI@Pt-NDs/CC)are successfully achieved by immersing Pt-NDs/CC into PM and PEI aque-ous solutions,respectively.PEI functionalization of Pt-NDs/CC improves its electroactivity for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)due to local proton enrichment whereas PM functionalization of Pt-NDs/CC im-proves its electroactivity for formic acid oxidation reaction(FAOR)by facilitating dehydrogenation path-way.With such high activity,a two-electrode electrolyzer is assembled using PM@Pt-NDs/CC as the an-odic electrocatalyst and PEI@Pt-NDs/CC as the cathodic electrocatalyst for electrochemical reforming of formic acid,which only requires 0.45 V voltage to achieve the current density of 10 mA cm-1 for high-purity hydrogen production,much lower than conventional water electrolysis(1.59 V).The work presents an example of interfacial engineering enhancing electrocatalytic activity and indicates that electrochem-ical reforming of formic acid is an energy-saving electrochemical method for high-purity hydrogen production.