Materializing efficient methanol oxidation via electron delocalization in nickel hydroxide nanoribbon.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32938941.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-18459-9 and PMC identifier 7495422.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Achieving a functional and durable non-platinum group metal-based methanol oxidation catalyst is critical for a cost-effective direct methanol fuel cell. While Ni(OH)<sub>2</sub> has been widely studied as methanol oxidation catalyst, the initial process of oxidizing Ni(OH)<sub>2</sub> to NiOOH requires a high potential of 1.35 V vs. RHE. Such potential would be impractical since the theoretical potential of the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction is at 1.23 V. Here we show that a four-coordinated nickel atom is able to form charge-transfer orbitals through delocalization of electrons near the Fermi energy level. As such, our previously reported periodically arranged four-six-coordinated nickel hydroxide nanoribbon structure (NR-Ni(OH)<sub>2</sub>) is able to show remarkable methanol oxidation activity with an onset potential of 0.55 V vs. RHE and suggests the operability in direct methanol fuel cell configuration. Thus, this strategy offers a gateway towards the development of high performance and durable non-platinum direct methanol fuel cell.