Platinum on nitrogen doped graphene and tungsten carbide supports for ammonia electro-oxidation reaction

Abstract

Ammonia electrooxidation reaction involving multistep electron-proton transfer is a significant reaction for fuel cells, hydrogen production and understanding nitrogen cycle. Platinum has been established as the best electrocatalyst for ammonia oxidation in aqueous alkaline media. In this study, Pt/nitrogen-doped graphene (NDG) and Pt/tungsten monocarbide (WC)/NDG are synthesized by a wet chemistry method and their ammonia oxidation activities are compared to commercial Pt/C. Pt/NDG exhibits a specific activity of 0.472 mA∙cm^–2, which is 44% higher than commercial Pt/C, thus establishing NDG as a more effective support than carbon black. Moreover, it is demonstrated that WC as a support also impacts the activity with further 30% increase in comparison to NDG. Surface modification with Ir resulted in the best electrocatalytic activity with Pt-Ir/WC/NDG having almost thrice the current density of commercial Pt/C. This work adds insights regarding the role of NDG and WC as efficient supports along with significant impact of Ir surface modification.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Ammonia electro-oxidation reaction / electrocatalyst supports / platinum / nitrogen doped graphene / tungsten carbide

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou) (Grant No. SMSEGL20SC01), Innovation and Technology Commission (Grant No. ITC-CNERC14EG03) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and startup funding of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

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