Organic ligand-free Rh-alloy nanostructures for superior oxygen reduction and evolution reactions

In the thermal decomposition method, organic solvents, ligands, and compounds are usually used under an N-2 atmosphere to synthesize pure metal and alloy nanostructures with high specific surface areas. However, the organic materials, which are used during the synthesis of metallic nanostructures, need to be completely eliminated to obtain cleaned surface states for effective catalytic reactions in aqueous atmospheres. Herein, we synthesize Ptlr nanostructures using a thermal decomposition method, followed by a heating process of the nanostructures under an air atmosphere to eliminate the organic materials covering the surface of Ptlr catalysts. The heated Ptlr alloy nanostructure catalysts represent the superior oxygen reduction and evolution performance due to an increased electrochemical active surface area caused by the complete removal of organic materials. (C) 2019 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.