One-step synthesis of Pt nanoparticles highly loaded on graphene aerogel as durable oxygen reduction electrocatalyst

Synthesis of highly active and durable Pt based catalysts with a high metal loading for fuel cells' applications still remains a big challenge. The three-dimensional (3D) graphene aerogel (GA) not only possess the intrinsic property of graphene, but also have abundant pore architecture for anchoring metal nanoparticles, thus would be suitable as metal catalysts' support. This work reports a simple and mild one-step co-reduction synthesis of Pt nanoparticles highly loaded on 3D GA and the use as durable oxygen reduction catalyst. Both X-ray diffraction and TEM measurements confirm that Pt nanoparticles (ca. 60 wt.% Pt loading) with an average diameter of ca. 3.2 nm are uniformly decorated on the homogeneously interconnected pores of 3D GA even after a heat treatment at 300°C. Such a Pt/GA catalyst exhibits significantly enhanced electrocatalytic activity and improved durability for the oxygen reduction reaction. The enhancement in both catalytic activity and durability may result from the unique 3-D architecture structure of GA, the uniform dispersion of Pt nanoparticles, and the interaction between the Pt nanoparticles and GA. The GA-supported Pt can serve as a highly active catalyst for fuel cell applications.