Urea assisted electrochemical synthesis of flower-like platinum arrays with high electrocatalytic activity

•Well-defined flower-like Pt arrays were prepared via one-step electrodeposition, assisted with urea as a growth directing agent.•This method is simple, facile, and controllable, without using any template, seed or surfactant.•The Pt arrays show an enhanced electrocatalytic activity toward ethylene glycol and methanol oxidation.

In this paper, well-defined flower-like Pt arrays were prepared on the glassy carbon electrode by one-step electrodeposition at–0.3 V for 600 s in 0.5 M H2SO4 containing 5 mM H2PtCl6 and 150 mM urea. This method is simple, facile, and controllable, without using any template, seed or surfactant. The experimental parameters were investigated and found urea acted as a growth directing agent. The as-prepared Pt nanocrystals were preferentially growing along the (111) directions, which were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). Moreover, the flower-like Pt nanoarrays exhibited a large effective surface area (EASA) and enhanced performance toward the oxidation of ethylene glycol and methanol in acid media, compared with Pt nanoparticles and commercial Pt black catalysts. This strategy can be extended to prepare other noble metal nanostructures as good electrocatalysts in fuel cells.

Graphical abstractA simple, facile, and controllable method was developed for preparation of well-defined flower-like Pt arrays via one-step electrodeposition, assisted with urea as a growth directing agent. The as-prepared Pt nanocrystals have a larger electroactive surface area and higher electrocatalytic activity toward ethylene glycol and methanol oxidation in acid media, compared with Pt nanoparticles and commercial Pt black catalysts.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide