Ultrathin rhodium nanosheet-gold nanowire nanocomposites for alkaline methanol oxidation reaction.

Electrostatically assembled ultrathin rhodium nanosheet-gold nanowire nanocomposites (Rh-Au CNSs) were used as an advanced electrocatalyst for the methanol oxidation reaction, which revealed a mass activity of 355 mA mgRh-1 at 0.607 V potential, much higher than single metal Rh nanosheets (273 mA mgRh-1) and commercial Rh nanoparticles (165 mA mgRh-1).

Efficient Nitrate-to-Ammonia Electroreduction at Cobalt Phosphide Nanoshuttles.

The nitrate electroreduction reaction (NO3--ERR) is an efficient and green approach for nitrate remediation, which requires a highly active and selective electrocatalyst. In this work, porous and amorphous cobalt phosphide nanoshuttles (CoP PANSs) are successfully synthesized by using Mg2+ ion-doped calcium carbonate nanoshuttles (Mg-CaCO3 NSs) as the initial reaction precursor via precipitation transformation and a high-temperature phosphidation strategy. Various physical characterizations show that CoP PANSs have porous architecture, amorphous crystal structure, and big surface area. Electrochemical measurements reveal for the first time that CoP PANSs have outstanding electroactivity for NO3--ERR in a neutral electrolyte. At an applied potential of -0.5 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode, CoP PANSs can achieve a high Faraday efficiency (94.24 ± 2.8%) and high yield rate (19.28 ± 0.53 mg h-1 mgcat-1) for ammonia production, which exceeds most reported values at various electrocatalysts for NO3--ERR. Thus, the present result indicates that cobalt phosphide nanomaterials have promising application for NO3--ERR.

Cyanogel auto-reduction induced synthesis of PdCo nanocubes on carbon nanobowls: a highly active electrocatalyst for ethanol electrooxidation.

Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) with a high conversion efficiency are quite promising candidates for energy conversion devices. Herein, we have successfully synthesized PdCo alloy nanocubes supported on carbon nanobowl (denoted as Pd2Co1/CNB) nanohybrids by using the cyanogel auto-reduction method at high temperature. The morphology, composition and structure of Pd2Co1/CNB nanohybrids are characterized in detail, revealing that PdCo nanocubes have a high alloying degree and special {110} facets. In cyclic voltammetry measurements, Pd2Co1/CNB nanohybrids show a mass activity of 1089.0 A g Pd-1 and a specific activity of 40.03 mA cm-2 for ethanol electrooxidation at peak potential, which are much higher than that of the commercial Pd/C electrocatalyst (278.2 A gPd-1 and 8.22 mA cm-2). Additionally, chronoamperometry measurements show that Pd2Co1/CNB nanohybrids have excellent durability for ethanol electrooxidation. A high alloying degree, special {110} facets and the CNB supporting material contribute to the high activity and durability of Pd2Co1/CNB nanohybrids, making them a highly promising Pt-alternative electrocatalyst for ethanol electrooxidation in DEFCs.