Gold-catalyzed construction of atomically rough surfaces towards high-efficiency ethanol electrooxidation

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Atomic surface engineering is crucial for improving electrocatalyst performance.
• Controlling surfaces at the atomic scale for nanostructures remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a facile and controllable method for creating atomically rough surfaces (ARSs) on gold-based binary alloys.
• To investigate the electrocatalytic activity and durability of these ARSs for the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR).

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of Au-based bimetallic nanoalloys (AuPd, AuAg).
• Gold (Au)-catalyzed strategy for subsequent reduction of metal ions (Pt, Pd, Ag) to form ARSs.
• Electrochemical characterization and in situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.
• Density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Main Results:

• Successfully constructed atomically rough surfaces (ARSs) on AuPd and AuAg alloys.
• The prepared ARSs, particularly Pd-Pt ARSs on AuPd (AuPd-Pt), demonstrated enhanced activity and durability for EOR in alkaline media.
• AuPd-Pt exhibited superior specific activity (14.9 mA cm⁻²) and mass activity (28.5 A mg⁻¹) compared to controls and commercial catalysts.
• In situ FTIR and DFT calculations indicated a preference for incomplete ethanol oxidation on Pd-Pt ARSs.

Conclusions:

• The novel gold-catalyzed strategy enables precise atomic-scale surface regulation for enhanced electrocatalysis.
• Atomically rough surfaces combined with ligand effects significantly boost EOR performance.
• The developed AuPd-Pt ARSs represent a promising advanced electrocatalyst for the ethanol oxidation reaction.