Formic acid electrooxidation on thallium-decorated shape-controlled platinum nanoparticles: an improvement in electrocatalytic activity

Thallium modified shape-controlled Pt nanoparticles were prepared and their electrocatalytic activity towards formic acid electrooxidation was evaluated in 0.5 M sulfuric acid. The electrochemical and in situ FTIR spectroscopic results show a remarkable improvement in the electrocatalytic activity,...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP 2014-07, Vol.16 (27), p.13616-13624
Hauptverfasser: Busó-Rogero, Carlos, Perales-Rondón, Juan V, Farias, Manuel J. S, Vidal-Iglesias, Francisco J, Solla-Gullon, Jose, Herrero, Enrique, Feliu, Juan M
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Thallium modified shape-controlled Pt nanoparticles were prepared and their electrocatalytic activity towards formic acid electrooxidation was evaluated in 0.5 M sulfuric acid. The electrochemical and in situ FTIR spectroscopic results show a remarkable improvement in the electrocatalytic activity, especially in the low potential region (around 0.1-0.2 V vs. RHE). Cubic Pt nanoparticles modified with Tl were found to be more active than the octahedral Pt ones in the entire range of Tl coverages and potential windows. In situ FTIR spectra indicate that the promotional effect produced by Tl results in the inhibition of the poisoning step leading to CO ads , thus improving the onset potential for the complete formic acid oxidation to CO 2 . Chronoamperometric experiments were also performed at 0.2 V to evaluate the stability of the electrocatalysts at constant potential. Finally, experiments with different concentrations of formic acid (0.05-1 M) were also carried out. In all cases, Tl-modified cubic Pt nanoparticles result to be the most active. All these facts reinforce the importance of controlling the surface structure of the electrocatalysts to optimize their electrocatalytic properties. Thallium deposited on Pt nanoparticles catalyzes formic acid electrooxidation.
ISSN:1463-9076
1463-9084
DOI:10.1039/c4cp00304g