Quasihexagonal Platinum Nanodendrites Decorated over CoS2‐N‐Doped Reduced Graphene Oxide for Electro‐Oxidation of C1‐, C2‐, and C3‐Type Alcohols

The development of efficient and highly durable materials for renewable energy conversion devices is crucial to the future of clean energy demand. Herein, cage-like quasihexagonal structured platinum nanodendrites decorated over the transition metal chalcogenide core (CoS2)-N-doped graphene oxide (PtNDs@CoS2-NrGO) through optimized shape engineering and structural control technology are fabricated. The prepared electrocatalyst of PtNDs@CoS2-NrGO is effectively used as anodic catalyst for alcohol oxidation in direct liquid alcohol fuel cells. Notably, the prepared PtNDs@CoS2-NrGO exhibits superior electrocatalytic performance toward alcohol oxidation with higher oxidation peak current densities of 491.31, 440.25, and 438.12 mA mg(pt)(-1) for (methanol) C1, (ethylene glycol) C2, and (glycerol) C3 fuel electrolytes, respectively, as compared to state-of-the-art Pt-C in acidic medium. The electro-oxidation durability of PtNDs@CoS2-NrGO is investigated through cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry tests, which demonstrate excellent stability of the electrocatalyst toward various alcohols. Furthermore, the surface and adsorption energies of PtNDs and CoS2 are calculated using density functional theory along with the detailed bonding analysis. Overall, the obtained results emphasize the advances in effective precious material utilization and fabricating techniques of active electrocatalysts for direct alcohol oxidation fuel cell applications.