Nanosized Rh grown on single-walled carbon nanohorns for efficient methanol oxidation reaction

• Published in: Rare metals Vol. 41; no. 6; pp. 2108 - 2117
• Main Authors: Guo, Xiang-Jie, Zhang, Qi, Li, Ya-Nan, Chen, Yang, Yang, Lu, He, Hai-Yan, Xu, Xing-Tao, Huang, Hua-Jie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Nonferrous Metals Society of China 01.06.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomaterials; Carbon; Carbon black; Catalysts; Chemical synthesis; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electrical resistivity; Energy; Fuel cells; Materials Engineering; Materials Science; Metallic Materials; Methanol; Nanoscale Science and Technology; Original Article; Oxidation; Palladium; Physical Chemistry; Rhodium; Surface area; Rhodium; Carbon nanohorns; Electrocatalysts; Methanol oxidation; Fuel cells
• ISSN: 1001-0521; 1867-7185
• DOI: 10.1007/s12598-021-01882-2

Reasonable design and controllable synthesis of non-Pt catalysts with high methanol oxidation activity are regarded as a valid way to promote the large-scale commercial applications of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Herein, we develop a convenient and cost-effective approach to the successful fabrication of nanosized Rh grown on single-walled carbon nanohorns (Rh/SWCNH) as anode catalysts for DMFCs. The unique architectural configuration endows the as-obtained hybrids with a series of intriguing structural merits, including large specific surface areas, abundant opened holes, optimized electronic structures, homogeneous Rh dispersion, and good electrical conductivity. As a consequence, the resulting Rh/SWCNH catalysts exhibit exceptional electrocatalytic properties in terms of a large electrochemically active surface area of 102.5 m 2 ·g −1 , a high mass activity of 784.0 mA·mg −1 , as well as reliable long-term durability towards the methanol oxidation reaction in alkaline media, thereby holding great potential as alternatives for commercial Pt/carbon black and Pd/carbon black catalysts. Graphic abstract