Highly Branched Metal Alloy Networks with Superior Activities for the Methanol Oxidation Reaction.
Three-dimensional (3D) interconnected metal alloy nanostructures possess superior catalytic performance owing to their advantageous characteristics, including improved catalytic activity, corrosion resistance, and stability. Hierarchically structured Ni-Cu alloys composed of 3D network-like microscopic branches with nanoscopic dendritic feelers on each branch were crafted by a facile and efficient hydrogen evolution-assisted electrodeposition approach. They were subsequently exploited for methanol electrooxidation in alkaline media. Among three hierarchically structured Ni-Cu alloys with different Ni/Cu ratios (Ni0.25Cu0.75, Ni0.50Cu0.50, and Ni0.75Cu0.25), the Ni0.75Cu0.25electrode exhibited the fastest electrochemical response and highest electrocatalytic activity toward methanol oxidation. The markedly enhanced performance of Ni0.75Cu0.25eletrocatalyst can be attributed to its alloyed structure with the proper Ni/Cu ratio and a large number of active sites on the surface of hierarchical structures.
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.|School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
Xun
X
Cui
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.|College of Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
Peng
P
Xiao
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.|School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
Jing
J
Wang
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.|School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
Ming
M
Zhou
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
Wenlong
W
Guo
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
Yang
Y
Yang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
Yanjie
Y
He
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
Zewei
Z
Wang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, South-Central University for Nationalities, Wuhan, 430074, China.
Yingkui
Y
Yang
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
Yunhuai
Y
Zhang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
Zhiqun
0000-0003-3158-9340
Z
Lin
Ni-Cu alloy; electrocatalysis; electrodeposition; hierarchical structures; methanol oxidation