Displacement Reaction-Assisted Synthesis of Sub-Nanometer Pt/Bi Boost Methanol-Tolerant Fuel Cells

The development of new synthetic methods for methanol-tolerant catalysts with improved performance is of fundamental importance for the commercialization of fuel cells. Herein, we reported a facile displacement reaction-assisted synthesis of graphene-supported sub-nanometer Pt/Bi catalysts (Pt/Bi/rGO). Bismuth (0) nanoparticles produced by NH₃BH₃ reduction can be further dissolved into the ethylene glycol, implying Bi(0) has a strong interaction with the hydroxyl group. That is the key interaction between Bi(0) and the functional group on the rGO to form the ultra-small Bi/rGO catalyst. Furthermore, Pt clusters are obtained by the displacement between Bi(0) and HPtCl₄ and are directly anchored to the rGO surface. The as-synthesized Pt/Bi/rGO catalyst exhibits high oxygen reduction mass activity and high tolerance to methanol poisoning. In the presence of 0.5 mol/L CH₃OH, the initial potential and activity of ORR were almost unchanged, which demonstrated great potential in the application of direct methanol fuel cells.