Yinghao Li

One-step fabrication of tri-metallic PdCuAu nanothorn assemblies as an efficient catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

The design of highly branched Pd-based nanostructures is very important for various electrocatalytic applications. Herein, we report a very simple one-step method for direct fabrication of tri-metallic PdCuAu nanothorn assemblies (PdCuAu NAs) in aqueous solution. The obtained unique PdCuAu NAs with a well-defined shape are highly branched and self-supported nanostructures assembled from staggered nanothorns as building blocks, and exhibit superior catalytic activity, durability and methanol-tolerant ability for the oxygen reduction reaction, benefiting from their branched structure and tri-metallic compositions. In comparison with traditional routes, the newly developed one-step fabrication method without the need for any seed, multi-step procedure and organic solvent is very feasible for the fabrication of branched multi-metallic Pd-based catalysts with designed compositions.

Direct synthesis of bimetallic PtCo mesoporous nanospheres as efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for both oxygen reduction reaction and methanol oxidation reaction

The engineering of electrocatalysts with high performance for cathodic and/or anodic catalytic reactions is of great urgency for the development of direct methanol fuel cells. Pt-based bimetallic alloys have recently received considerable attention in the field of fuel cells because of their superior catalytic performance towards both fuel molecule electro-oxidation and oxygen reduction. In this work, bimetallic PtCo mesoporous nanospheres (PtCo MNs) with uniform size and morphology have been prepared by a one-step method with a high yield. The as-made PtCo MNs show superior catalytic activities for both oxygen reduction reaction and methanol oxidation reaction relative to Pt MNs and commercial Pt/C catalyst, attributed to their mesoporous structure and bimetallic composition.

Tri-metallic PtPdAu mesoporous nanoelectrocatalysts

The design of mesoporous materials with multi-metallic compositions is highly important for various electrocatalytic applications. In this paper, we demonstrate an efficient method to directly fabricate tri-metallic PtPdAu mesoporous nanoparticles (PtPdAu MNs) in a high yield, which is simply performed by heating treatment of the reaction mixture aqueous solution at 40 °C for 4 h. Profiting from its mesoporous structure and multi-metallic components, the as-prepared PtPdAu MNs exhibit enhanced electrocatalytic activities toward both methanol oxidation reaction and oxygen reduction reaction in comparison with bi-metallic PtPd MNs and commercial Pt/C catalyst.

Ambient Electrochemical Synthesis of Ammonia from Nitrogen and Water Catalyzed by Flower-Like Gold Microstructures

Electrochemical nitrogen reduction to ammonia is proposed as a promising alternative to the Haber-Bosch process because it can be driven by renewable electricity at ambient conditions. Currently, the development of such a process is hampered by the lack of efficient electrocatalysts for the nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR). Herein, we report a super-rapid approach for the synthesis of flower-like Au microstructures (Au flowers) within 5u2005s. The obtained Au structures are assembled by staggered nanoplates as building blocks, which provide abundant electrocatalytically active sites for the NRR. The Au flowers achieve a high performance (NH3 yield: 25.57u2005μgu2009h-1 u2009mgcat. -1 ; faradaic efficiency: 6.05u2009%), 100u2009% selectivity (no N2 H4 production), and long-term durability toward the electrochemical ammonia production. The work is highly valuable for the rapid synthesis of active catalysts for the NRR.

Enhanced Dual Fuel Cell Electrocatalysis with Trimetallic PtPdCo Mesoporous Nanoparticles

The facile preparation of platinum-based catalysts with designed compositions and structures is of great importance for fuel cells. In this work, a one-pot method is developed to synthesize monodispersed trimetallic PtPdCo mesoporous nanoparticles (PtPdCo MNs) with uniform morphology and size. The proposed synthetic method does not require any hard template or organic solvent, which greatly simplifies the preparation procedure. PtPdCo MNs, with a highly porous structure, exhibit enhanced electrocatalytic activities and excellent stabilities for both the formic acid oxidation reaction and the oxygen reduction reaction, relative to bimetallic PtPd MNs and commercial Pt/C catalyst. The proposed synthetic method is highly valuable for the design of mesoporous multimetallic catalysts for fuel cells.

Ultrathin nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon shell encapsulating CoRu bimetallic nanoparticles for enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Design of highly active and cost-effective electrocatalysts is very important for the generation of hydrogen by electrochemical water-splitting. Herein, we report the fabrication of ultrathin nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon shell encapsulating CoRu bimetallic nanoparticles (CoRu@NCs) and demonstrate their promising feasibility for efficiently catalyzing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) over a wide pH range. The resultant CoRu@NC nanohybrids possess an alloy-carbon core-shell structure with encapsulated low-ruthenium-content CoRu bimetallic alloy nanoparticles (10-30 nm) as the core and ultrathin nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon layers (2-6 layers) as the shell. Remarkably, the optimized catalyst (CoRu@NC-2 sample) with a Ru content as low as 2.04 wt% shows superior catalytic activity and excellent durability for HER in acidic, neutral, and alkaline conditions. This work offers a new method for the design and synthesis of non-platium-based electrocatalysts for HER in all-pH.

Spatially-controlled NiCo2O4@MnO2 core–shell nanoarray with hollow NiCo2O4 cores and MnO2 flake shells: an efficient catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Control of structures and components of the nanoarray catalysts is very important for electrochemical energy conversion. Herein, unique NiCo2O4@MnO2 core-shell nanoarray with hollow NiCo2O4 Cores and MnO2 flake shells is in situ fabricated on carbon textile via a two-step hydrothermal treatment followed by a subsequent annealing. The as-made nanoarray is highly active and durable catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline media attribute to the synergetic effect derived from spatially separated nanoarray with favorable NiCo2O4 and MnO2 compositions.

Hyperbranched PdRu nanospine assemblies: an efficient electrocatalyst for formic acid oxidation

Highly branched Pd-based nanocrystals are very attractive materials for electrocatalytic formic acid oxidation (FAO). Herein, a very simple synthetic method is proposed for preparing unique bi-metallic PdRu nanospine assemblies (PdRu NSAs) in high yield. The self-supported PdRu NSAs assembled by staggered nanospines show superior catalytic activity and durability for FAO, owing to their hyperbranched nanoarchitectures and bimetallic compositions. Different from the traditional multi-step routes, the proposed one-step synthetic method is very valuable for fabricating hyperbranched Pd-based catalysts with designed compositions and desired performances.

Prussian Blue‐Derived Iron Phosphide Nanoparticles in a Porous Graphene Aerogel as Efficient Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Tailoring of new hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalyst with earth abundant elements is important for large scale water splitting and hydrogen production. In this work, we present a simple synthetic method for incorporating iron phosphide (FeP) particles into three-dimensional (3D) porous graphene aerogel (GA) structure. The FeP formed in porous 3D GA (FeP/GA) is derived from electroactive Fe hexacyanoferrate (FeHCF). The advantage of incorporating FeP, in the porous 3D graphene network enables high accessibility for HER. As synthesized FeP/GA catalyst shows good electrocatalytic activity for HER in both acidic and alkaline solutions. The developed method can be useful for synthesizing metal hexacyanoferrate derived mono/bimetal phosphide catalyst in porous 3D graphene aerogels.

Mesoporous Co3O4 Nanobundle Electrocatalysts

Tailoring metal oxide nanostructures with mesoporous architectures is vital to improve their electrocatalytic performance. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of 2D mesoporous Co3 O4 (meso-Co3 O4 ) nanobundles with uniform shape and size by employing a hard-template method. In this study, the incipient wetness impregnation technique has been chosen for loading metal precursor into the silica hard template (SBA-15). The results reveal that the concentration of a saturated precursor solution plays a vital role in mesostructured ordering, as well as the size and shape of the final meso-Co3 O4 product. The optimized precursor concentration allows us to synthesize ordered meso-Co3 O4 with four to seven nanowires in each particle. The meso-Co3 O4 structure exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity for both glucose and water oxidation reactions.