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Platinum electrocatalysts with plasmonic nano-cores for photo-enhanced oxygen-reduction

  • Zhaoke Zheng*
  • , Wen Xie
  • , Mengmeng Li
  • , Yun Hau Ng
  • , Da-Wei Wang
  • , Ying Dai
  • , Baibiao Huang*
  • , Rose Amal*
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

Abstract

Platinum (Pt) has been recognized as the most efficient catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). So far, great efforts have been devoted to enhance the ORR activity of Pt by alloying or surface engineering, however, little effect has been devoted to utilizing solar energy to boost the ORR catalysis. Herein a photo-enhanced strategy is developed to improve the ORR activity of Pt with plasmonic nano-cores. Au-Pd-Pt NRs with strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption are synthesized and Pd serves as the buffer layer. Upon visible-light irradiation, the mass and specific activities over Au-Pd-Pt NRs/C could reach 2.56 A mg−1 Pt and 3.57 mA cm−2 at 0.9 V versus RHE, which is 25.6 and 27.5 times higher than those of commercial Pt/C; notably, 2.2-fold enhancement is obtained only with the visible-light energy. These studies may open new avenues to further improve the ORR activity with light energy as a driving force.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)233-242
JournalNano Energy
Volume41
Online published21 Sept 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2017
Externally publishedYes

Research Keywords

  • Core/shell nanoparticles
  • Density functional theory
  • Electrocatalysis
  • Oxygen reduction reaction
  • Surface plasmon resonance

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