High stability and activity of Pt electrocatalyst on atomic layer deposited metal oxide/nitrogen-doped graphene hybrid support

• ZrO2/NGNs hybrid material was synthesized by ALD.
• Pt catalyst stability was improved by triple-interaction of Pt–ZrO2–NGNs.
• The activity of Pt towards MOR was enhanced by metal oxides.

A novel nanostructured support of ZrO2/nitrogen-doped graphene nanosheets (ZrO2/NGNs) hybrid was synthesized successfully by atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology to significantly improve the activity and stability of Pt electrocatalyst. Electrochemical test shows that Pt–ZrO2/NGNs catalyst has 2.1 times higher activity towards methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) than Pt/NGNs catalyst, due to the promotion by ZrO2 to the MOR on Pt surface. Pt–ZrO2/NGNs catalyst has higher electrochemical surface area (ECSA) and better oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity than Pt/NGNs catalyst. Pt–ZrO2/NGNs catalyst has also demonstrated 2.2 times higher durability than that of Pt/NGNs. The enhanced activity and durability were attributed to the unique triple-interaction of ZrO2–Pt–NGNs. These findings indicate that metal oxide-metal-support is a promising catalyst structure for low temperature fuel cells.

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