Insulin amyloid fibrils-templated rational self-assembly of vine-tree-like PtRh nanocatalysts for efficient methanol electrooxidation

Publication date: Available online 16 April 2019Source: Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering AspectsAuthor(s): Li Hou, Yunfeng Niu, Yang Jiang, Tifeng Jiao, Yuanyuan Guo, Yanyan Zhou, Faming GaoAbstractShape-controlled synthesis of platinum-based alloy nanocatalysts with well-designed size and structure is essential for developing highly efficient catalysts. Here, a biomolecule-based strategy for the synthesis of vine-tree-like PtRh nanowires (VT-PtRhNWs) using insulin amyloid fibrils (INSAFs) as sacrificial templates is presented. In this structure, the inner PtRh nanowires behave as the rigid ‘tree’ and the outer PtRh nanoparticles interconnects to form a spiral chain-like structure as the flexible ‘vine’. Owning to the limitation effect of biological template, both of nanoparticles and nanowires present a very small size of less than 2 nm, and thus leading to a large electrochemical active surface area of 79.20 m2/g. As a result, the as-prepared VT-PtRhNWs exhibit a much higher catalytic activity toward methanol oxidation compared with the commercial Pt/C catalyst, and also an improved CO tolerance, indicating a great potential as excellent electrocatalysts for fuel cells.Graphical abstract
Source: Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research