J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2016, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (7): 639-645.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2016.04.014

• Orginal Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Controlled Growth of Pt-Au Alloy Nanowires and Their Performance for Formic Acid Electrooxidation

Yu Han1, Yuejun Ouyang2, *, Zhihui Xie3, Jinri Chen1, Fangfang Chang1, Gang Yu1, **   

  1. 1 State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China; 2 College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Huaihua University, Huaihua 418000, China; 3 Chemical Synthesis and Pollution Control Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China West Normal University, Nanchong637002, China
  • Received:2015-03-24 Revised:2015-04-26 Online:2016-07-10 Published:2016-10-10
  • Contact: Corresponding author. Ph.D.; Tel.: +86 745 2851213; Fax: +86 745 2851305. E-mail address: oyyj0816@163.com (Y. J. Ouyang).
  • Supported by:
    This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.51271074), and the Key Project of Hunan provincial Education Department of China(No.15A146).

Abstract: Pt-Au alloy nanowires have been controllably electrodeposited on microelectrodes by applying an alternating current and were used as the electrocatalyst for formic acid oxidation. The frequency and voltage of the alternating current and the electrolyte composition were adjusted to precisely control the morphologies, alloying structures and composition. The characteristics of Pt-Au alloy nanowires were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron spectroscopy. Electrocatalytic performance of formic acid oxidation at Pt-Au alloy nanowires electrode was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The results showed that the Pt-Au alloy nanowires possessed highly-crystalline morphologies, the controllable bimetallic composition and single-phase alloy structures, which mainly grow in the <111> crystal orientation. The electrocatalytic activity of formic acid oxidation strongly depended on the bimetallic Pt/Au composition. The Pt35Au65 alloy nanowires displayed superior electrocatalytic performance and high stability toward the electrooxidation of formic acid in acidic solution, owing to the ensemble effect of the Pt and Au components. These findings provided insights into the design of the Pt-Au bimetallic nanomaterials as electrocatalysts for formic acid oxidation.

Key words: Pt-Au alloy, Nanowires, Phase structure, Formic acid, Electrooxidation