3D Nanoporous Gold with Very Low Parting Limit Derived from Au-based Metallic Glass and Enhanced Methanol Electro-oxidation Catalytic Performance

TL;DR

This paper reports a novel 3D nanoporous gold structure with enhanced catalytic activity for methanol electro-oxidation, achieved through a simple dealloying process, significantly improving performance over existing NPG catalysts.

Contribution

Introduces a new 3D free-standing nanoporous gold with unique morphology and record catalytic activity for methanol oxidation.

Findings

Highest specific catalytic activity reported for NPG

Unique porous cone-shaped protrusions observed

Simple chemical dealloying method used

Abstract

Nanoporous gold (NPG) with bi-continuous ligaments and pores structure has promising potential in functional applications, among which one prominent example is fuel cell electrocatalyst. However, current application of NPG is mostly limited to methanol electro-oxidation due to its weak catalytic performance. Here we report a simple chemical dealloying process, for generating peculiar three-dimensional (3D) free-standing NPG with high specific surface area associated with a novel porous cone shaped protrusion morphology. This NPG structure possesses the highest specific activity of catalytic performance reported NPG catalysts so far.