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Influence of borohydride concentration on the synthesized Au/graphene nanocomposites for direct borohydride fuel cell

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Abstract

Au/graphene nanocomposites are prepared via a one-pot chemical reduction process at room temperature, using graphene oxide (GO) and chloroauric acid (HAuCl4) as precursors. The obtained Au/graphene nanocomposites are characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). TEM shows that the Au nanoparticles with size of approximately 8.7 nm disperse randomly on the surface of graphene. XPS confirms that the Au/graphene nanocomposites show a higher atomic percentage of C/O (6.3/1), in contrast to its precursor GO (2.2/1). Electrochemical studies reveal that the Au/graphene nanocomposites have electrochemically active surface area of 9.82 m2 g−1. Besides, the influence of borohydride concentration on the as-prepared Au/graphene nanocomposites is investigated in details by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and chronopotentiometry. The results indicate that high concentration of borohydride can significantly improve the electrochemical performance of the Au/graphene catalyst.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51072173), Doctoral Fund of Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 20094301110005), and Key project of Education Department of Hunan Province (Grant No. 11A118).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Applications of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan, 411105, China

    Xue Liu, Xianyou Wang, Peiying He, Lanhua Yi, Ziling Liu & Xin Yi

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  1. Xue Liu
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  2. Xianyou Wang
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  3. Peiying He
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  4. Lanhua Yi
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  5. Ziling Liu
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Correspondence to Xianyou Wang.

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Liu, X., Wang, X., He, P. et al. Influence of borohydride concentration on the synthesized Au/graphene nanocomposites for direct borohydride fuel cell. J Solid State Electrochem 16, 3929–3937 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-012-1840-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-012-1840-2

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