Oxygen Electroreduction on Pt Nanoparticles Deposited on Reduced Graphene Oxide and N‐doped Reduced Graphene Oxide Prepared by Plasma‐assisted Synthesis in Aqueous Solution

Abstract

Abstract Platinum nanoparticles were deposited on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and nitrogen‐doped rGO (rGO−N) by He/H 2 plasma jet treatment of H 2 PtCl 6 aqueous solution for electroreduction of oxygen. Physical characterization of the prepared catalysts was performed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Electrochemical characterization was carried out by cyclic voltammetry and CO‐stripping techniques. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of the prepared Pt/rGO and Pt/rGO−N catalyst materials was investigated using the rotating disk electrode method in 0.1 M KOH and 0.05 M H 2 SO 4 . In both acidic and alkaline electrolytes, the catalyst materials prepared by the plasma jet method demonstrated superior electrocatalytic properties compared to that of commercial 20 wt% Pt/C catalyst. Specific activity values for the ORR in acid electrolyte were 2‐fold and in alkaline media more than 3‐fold higher than that obtained for commercial Pt/C catalyst.