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Chen et al. Energy Mater 2022;2:200033 Energy Materials
DOI: 10.20517/energymater.2022.36

Communication Open Access

Facile synthesis of platinum-copper aerogels for the

oxygen reduction reaction

Zhiwei Chen, Yuxiang Liao, Shengli Chen*
College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, Hubei, China.

* Correspondence to: Prof. Shengli Chen, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Luojiashan,
Wuchang District, Wuhan 430072, Hubei, China. E-mail: slchen@whu.edu.cn
How to cite this article: Chen Z, Liao Y, Chen S. Facile synthesis of platinum-copper aerogels for the oxygen reduction reaction.
Energy Mater 2022;2:200033. https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/energymater.2022.36

Received: 22 Jun 2022 First Decision: 14 Jul 2022 Revised: 28 Aug 2022 Accepted: 30 Aug 2022 Published: 5 Sep 2022

Academic Editors: Yuping Wu, Wei Tang Copy Editor: Tiantian Shi Production Editor: Tiantian Shi

Abstract
Although carbon-supported platinum (Pt/C) has been generally used as a catalyst for the oxygen reduction
reaction (ORR) in fuel cells, its practical application is limited by the corrosion reaction of the carbon support.
Therefore, it is essential to develop new self-supported catalysts for the ORR. Noble metal aerogels represent
highly promising self-supported catalysts with large specific surface area and excellent electrocatalytic activity.
Classic sol-gel processes for aerogel synthesis usually take days due to the slow gelation kinetics. Here, we report a
straightforward strategy to synthesize platinum-copper (PtCu) aerogels by reducing the metal salt solution with an
excess of sodium borohydride at room temperature. The PtCu aerogels are formed in a relatively short time of 1 h
through a rapid nucleation mechanism. The obtained PtCu aerogels have a highly porous structure with an
2
appreciable topological surface area of 33.0 m /g and mainly exposed (111) facets, which are favorable for the ORR.
Consequently, the PtCu aerogels exhibit excellent ORR activity with a mass activity of 369.4 mA/mg and a
Pt
2
specific activity of 0.847 mA/cm , which are 2.6 and 3.3 times greater than those of Pt/C, respectively. The PtCu
aerogels show remarkable ORR catalysis among all the noble metal aerogels that have been reported. The porous
morphology and outstanding electrocatalytic activities of the PtCu aerogels illustrate their promising applications
in fuel cells.

Keywords: Noble metal aerogels, platinum-copper alloy, rapid nucleation, electrocatalysis, oxygen reduction
reaction

© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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