Preparation of anode catalysts for sorbitol electrooxidation based on the nanocomposites of fumed silica, reduced graphene oxide and gold nanoparticles
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY, vol.46, no.55, pp.28121-28133, 2021 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 46 Issue: 55
- Publication Date: 2021
- Doi Number: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.06.060
- Journal Name: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, PASCAL, Artic & Antarctic Regions, Chemical Abstracts Core, Communication Abstracts, Environment Index, INSPEC
- Page Numbers: pp.28121-28133
- Eskisehir Osmangazi University Affiliated: No
Abstract
In this study, fumed silica (FS), reduced graphene oxide (rGO), and their hybrid (FS-rGO) are tested as support materials for Au nanoparticles to prepare anode catalysts for sorbitol fuel cells. Chemical reduction method is used to obtain Au@FS, Au@rGO, and Au@FS-rGO cat-alysts characterized by SEM, EDAX, TEM, XRD, and Raman analysis. The Au contents of the catalysts are determined as 32.5% (Au@FS), 32% (Au@rGO), and 32.8% (Au@FS-rGO). Di-ameters of Au nanoparticles are measured as 1.51 nm (Au@FS), 5.90 nm (Au@rGO), and 7.05 nm (Au@FS-rGO). The highest current density for sorbitol oxidation is obtained with Au@FS-rGO. The onset potential of sorbitol oxidation obtained with Au@FS-rGO (0.007 V) is much smaller than those of Au@FS (0.028 V) and Au@rGO (0.038 V), indicating the syner-gistic effect of FS and rGO. FS significantly increases the activity and stability of the cata-lysts compared to rGO one of the commonly researched support materials in fuel cells. (c) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.