Synergistic Effect of Oxygen Vacancy-Rich SnO2 and AgCl in the Augmentation of Sustained Oxygen Reduction Reaction

• Published in: Langmuir 2023-08, Vol.39 (33), p.11708-11719
• Main Authors: Yatheendran, Anagha, Rajan, Rahul, Sandhyarani, N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0743-7463; 1520-5827
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c01311

Developing a stable and methanol-tolerant electrocatalyst for a sustained oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of great importance for advancing direct methanol fuel cell applications. The silver-based electrocatalysts are particularly interesting among the promising non-Pt-based electrocatalysts for ORR. Herein, we report a single-step synthesis of a composite of AgCl and SnO2 with oxygen vacancy (AgCl–SnO2(VO)), which exhibits sustained and selective catalytic activity for the ORR along with excellent durability. Hydrothermal synthesis generates oxygen vacancies within the material and facilitates a strong interaction between AgCl and SnO2(VO), which effectively augments the ORR activity and the long-term stability of the composite. The composite exhibits remarkable methanol tolerance, as evidenced by a meager shift of only 0.002 V in the half-wave potential. Furthermore, the composite demonstrates excellent durability, with no noticeable changes in onset and half-wave potential even after 2500 cycles. The cost-effectiveness, durability, and ORR selectivity of this composite hold great promise toward contributing to the advancement of clean energy technology.