Nanosized Rh grown on single‐walled carbon nanohorns for efficient methanol oxidation reaction
Xiangjie Guo, Qi Zhang, Yanan Li, Yang Chen, Lu Yang, Haiyan He, Xingtao Xu, Huajie Huang
Abstract
Abstract Reasonable design and controllable synthesis of non‐Pt catalysts with high methanol oxidation activity are regarded as a valid way to promote the large‐scale commercial applications of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Herein, we develop a convenient and cost‐effective approach to the successful fabrication of nanosized Rh grown on single‐walled carbon nanohorns (Rh/SWCNH) as anode catalysts for DMFCs. The unique architectural configuration endows the as‐obtained hybrids with a series of intriguing structural merits, including large specific surface areas, abundant opened holes, optimized electronic structures, homogeneous Rh dispersion, and good electrical conductivity. As a consequence, the resulting Rh/SWCNH catalysts exhibit exceptional electrocatalytic properties in terms of a large electrochemically active surface area of 102.5 m 2 ·g −1 , a high mass activity of 784.0 mA·mg −1 , as well as reliable long‐term durability towards the methanol oxidation reaction in alkaline media, thereby holding great potential as alternatives for commercial Pt/carbon black and Pd/carbon black catalysts.