Abstract
The application of direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) has been bottlenecked by the sluggish ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). Efficient electrocatalysts for the C − C bond cleavage are essential to promote EOR with high efficiency and C1 selectivity. Here, we prepared Rh–Cu alloy nano-dendrites (RhCu NDs) with abundant surface steps through controlled co-reduction, which exhibited significantly enhanced activity and C1 selectivity (0.47 mA cm−2(ECSA), 472.4 mA mgRh−1, and 38.9%) than Rh NDs (0.32 mA cm−2(ECSA), 322.1 mA mgRh−1, and 21.4%) and commercially available Rh/C (0.18 mA cm−2(ECSA), 265.4 mA mgRh−1, and 14.9%). Theoretical calculations and CO-stripping experiments revealed that alloying with Cu could modulate the surface electronic structures of Rh to resist CO-poisoning while strengthening ethanol adsorption. In situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) indicated that the surface steps on RhCu NDs further promoted the C − C bond cleavage to increase the C1 selectivity. Therefore, optimizing the surface geometric and electronic structures of nanocrystals by rational composition and morphology control can provide a promising strategy for developing practical DEFC devices.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 343-349 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Energy Chemistry |
Volume | 82 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2023 |
Keywords
- Electrocatalysis
- Ethanol oxidation reaction
- In situ FTIR
- Nano-dendrites
- Rh–Cu alloy