Ionic liquid-assisted synthesis of composition-tunable cross-linked AgPt aerogels with enhanced electrocatalysis

A facile one-pot coreduction strategy was developed to synthesize composition-tunable cross-linked AgPt aerogels, where ionic liquid (1-aminopropyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide, [APMIm]Br) played a significant role in controlling the morphology and structure. During the synthesis progress, Br^- easily reacted with Ag⁺ to form AgBr precipitate and consequently slowed down the reducing rate of Ag⁺, as well as acting as a capping agent to promote the anisotropic growth of AgPt aerogels, as mainly demonstrated by the electronic microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The architectures showed superior catalytic activity and enhanced durability toward ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) and ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) in contrast with commercial Pt black, owing to the tailored composition, morphology and electronic structure of the prepared AgPt aerogels.