Shape-controlled synthesis of Pt nanoparticles via integration of graphene and β-cyclodextrin and using as a noval electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation

• Graphene nanosheets and β-cyclodextrin were integrated by a facile chemical procedure.
• GNs-CD was used as a support to load nanodendritic hydrangea-like Pt nanoclusters.
• hydrophobic interaction between CD and Pt particle regulated nanocluster morphology.
• GNs functioned as a matrix to distribute Pt nanoclusters uniformly.
• Pt/GNs-CD showed remarkably enhanced catalytic activities for methanol oxidation.

The integration of graphene nanosheets (GNs) and β-cyclodextrin (CD) may bring about large surface area and high conductivity of GNs and unique supramolecular recognition capability of CD together. In this paper, for the first time, GNs-CD was used as a supporting material to construct nanodendritic hydrangea-like Pt nanoparticles, which was implemented by a facile wet chemical procedure. β-CD on GNs surface was used to regulate the final morphology of Pt nanoparticles without additional capping agent and seeds, and GNs functioned as a matrix to obtain a relatively uniform distribution of Pt nano-clusters. Electrocatalytic performance of the as-prepared Pt/GNs-CD hybrid was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry, COad stripping voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The Pt/GNs-CD hybrid exhibited much higher catalytic activity and stability than Pt/GNs and Pt/Vulcan X72R towards methanol oxidation, suggesting that Pt/GNs-CD hybrid could be a promising electrocatalyst for high-performance direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) applications.

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