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This presentation will include two parts. In the first part, I will focus on our recent work on designing various novel Pt nanostructures as electrocatalysts for PEM fuel cells (PEMFCs). The short life-time and high cost of Pt catalyst are the main obstacles for the commercialization of PEMFCs. It is well accepted that the catalytic activity and durability of Pt catalysts are highly dependent on their morphology, and therefore the exploration of novel Pt nanostructures has become an area of considerable interest. To date, most studies have mainly focused on 0D nanoparticles of Pt. Very recently, 1D structures of Pt, such as nanowires (NWs), have emerged as a new type of promising fuel cell catalyst, exhibiting much enhanced performance compared to the commercially-used Pt/C nanoparticle catalysts. Here, I will systematically introduce our recent work on the green chemistry synthesis of 1D Pt NWs and their use as highly efficient electrocatalysts for PEMFCs. Specifically: (i) A facile method to synthesize Pt NWs (4 nm in diameter), which exhibit 3-times better activity and 5-fold better durability, for ORR, than the state-of-the-art commercial catalyst made of Pt nanoparticles;^1-3 (ii) PtNWs on Sn@CNT nanocable 3D electrodes;⁴ (iii) Diameter control of Pt NWs grown on CNTs and N-doped CNTs; (iv) some very recent results will be presented as well.

In the second part, I will report our recent work on waste water treatment. Environmental pollution is a global menace, and its magnitude is increasing day-by-day due to urbanization, heavy industrialization and the changing lifestyles of people. The demand for hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is booming since it is considered as one of the most environmentally friendly and versatile chemical oxidants available and has a wide range of applications, especially in waste water treatment (degradation of organic pollutants). In-situ generation of H₂O₂ has attracted a growing interest since it avoids the cost and risks involved in the transportation and handling of concentrated H₂O₂. We developed a simple method to prepare two types of catalysts: Fe₃O₄/Printex and Fe₃O₄/graphene, which show promising activity for ORR in alkaline medium to generate H₂O₂. Further, both catalysts show excellent durability, and even more, the activity of Fe₃O₄/graphene increased after several hours durability test. These catalysts hold very promising potential applications in waste water treatment.

nanomaterails, fuel cells, catalysis