Assembling molybdenum-doped platinum clusters into a coral-like nanostructure for highly enhanced oxygen reduction
Linwei Zheng,
Mang Niu,
Tiantian Zeng,
Xiaohang Ge,
Yanrui Wang,
Chun Xian Guo,
Weiyong Yuan,
Dapeng Cao,
Lian Ying Zhang,
Chang Ming Li
Affiliations
Linwei Zheng
Institute of Materials for Energy and Environment, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
Mang Niu
Institute of Materials for Energy and Environment, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
Tiantian Zeng
Institute of Materials for Energy and Environment, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
Xiaohang Ge
Institute of Materials for Energy and Environment, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
Yanrui Wang
Institute of Materials for Energy and Environment, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
Chun Xian Guo
Institute for Materials Science and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215011, PR China
Weiyong Yuan
Ningbo Research Institute, Zhejiang University, Ningbo 315100, China
Dapeng Cao
State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
Lian Ying Zhang
Institute of Materials for Energy and Environment, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China; Corresponding authors.
Chang Ming Li
Institute for Materials Science and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215011, PR China; Corresponding authors.
Regulating the electronic and geometric structures of electrocatalysts is an effective strategy to boost their catalytic properties. Herein, a coral-like nanostructure is assembled with Mo-doped Pt clusters to form a highly active catalyst toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The advantages of a Mo-doped porous skeleton, grain boundaries, and MoOx species on the Pt cluster surfaces synergistically boost the electrocatalytic performance. This unique architecture delivers 3.5- and 2.8-fold higher mass and specific activities, respectively, than commercial Pt/C. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the Mo-doped Pt clusters have an optimized Pt–O bond length of 2.110 Å, which weakens the adsorption energy of the intermediate O∗ to yield great ORR activity. Moreover, the catalyst shows a decay in the half-wave potential of only 8 mV after 10,000 cycles of accelerated durability testing. The high stability arises from the increased dissociation energy of Pt atoms and the stable architecture of the coral-like structure of clusters.
