title: Nickel supported on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes as hydrogen oxidation reaction catalyst in alkaline electrolyte.
abstract: The development of a low-cost, high-performance platinum-group-metal-free hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cell is hindered by the lack of a hydrogen oxidation reaction catalyst at the anode. Here we report that a composite catalyst, nickel nanoparticles supported on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes, has hydrogen oxidation activity similar to platinum-group metals in alkaline electrolyte. Although nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes are a very poor hydrogen oxidation catalyst, as a support, it increases the catalytic performance of nickel nanoparticles by a factor of 33 (mass activity) or 21 (exchange current density) relative to unsupported nickel nanoparticles. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the nitrogen-doped support stabilizes the nanoparticle against reconstruction, while nitrogen located at the edge of the nanoparticle tunes local adsorption sites by affecting the d-orbitals of nickel. Owing to its high activity and low cost, our catalyst shows significant potential for use in low-cost, high-performance fuel cells.
authors.affiliation: State Key Lab of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.|Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.|Center for Catalytic Science and Technology, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.
authors.forename: Zhongbin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.|Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Giles
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.|Center for Catalytic Science and Technology, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.|Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.
authors.forename: Glen R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Jenness
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.|Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.
authors.forename: Stavros
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Caratzoulas
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.|Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.
authors.forename: Dionisios G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Vlachos
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.|Center for Catalytic Science and Technology, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.
authors.forename: Yushan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yan