title: Facile synthesis of surfactant-free Au cluster/graphene hybrids for high-performance oxygen reduction reaction.
abstract: Non-Pt noble metal clusters like Au clusters are believed to be promising high performance catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode of fuel cells, but they still suffer big problems during the catalysis reactions, such as a large amount of the capping agents being on the surface and easy occurrence of dissolution and aggregation. To overcome these obstacles, here, we present a novel and general strategy to grow ultrafine Au clusters and other metal (Pt, Pd) clusters on the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets without any additional protecting molecule or reductant. Compared with the currently generally adopted nanocatalysts, including commercial Pt/C, rGO sheets, Au nanoparticle/rGO hybrids, and thiol-capped Au clusters of the same sizes, the as-synthesized Au cluster/rGO hybrids display an impressive eletrocatalytic performance toward ORR, for instance, high onset potential, superior methanol tolerance, and excellent stability.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Nanomaterials, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Huajie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Hongjie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D006046:Gold; D006108:Graphite; D010100:Oxygen