Nanoporous bimetallic Fe–Ag nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized using a facile chemical reduction method and used to decorate the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for hydrogen sorption and storage. The effect of TiO 2 nanoparticles on the hydrogen storage properties of Fe–Ag/CNTs was further studied in detail. For this purpose, several nanocomposites of nanoporous bimetallic Fe–Ag/TiO 2 nanoparticles with different amounts of bimetallic Fe–Ag NPs were prepared via a hydrothermal method. The hydrogen storage capacity of the as-prepared nanocomposites was studied using electrochemical methods. The Fe–Ag/TiO 2 /CNT nanocomposite with 0.04 M bimetallic Fe–Ag NPs showed the highest capacity for hydrogen storage, which was ∼5× higher than that of pristine MWCNTs. The maximum discharge capacity was 2931 mA h g −1 , corresponding to a 10.94 wt% hydrogen storage capacity. Furthermore, a 379% increase in discharge capacity was measured after 20 cycles. These results show that Fe–Ag/TiO 2 /CNT electrodes display superior cycling stability and high reversible capacity, which is attractive for battery applications.
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Probing the role of CNTs in Pt nanoparticle/CNT/graphene nanohybrids H 2 sensors
Abstract In the carbon nanotubes film/graphene heterostructure decorated with catalytic Pt nanoparticles using atomic layer deposition (Pt-NPs/CNTs/Gr) H 2 sensors, the CNT film determines the effective sensing area and the signal transport to Gr channel. The former requires a large CNT aspect ratio for a higher sensing area while the latter demands high electric conductivity for efficient charge transport. Considering the CNT’s aspect ratio decreases, while its conductivity increases ( i.e. , bandgap decreases), with the CNT diameter, it is important to understand how quantitatively these effects impact the performance of the Pt-NPs/CNTs/Gr nanohybrids sensors. Motivated by this, this work presents a systematic study of the Pt-NPs/CNTs/Gr H 2 sensor performance with the CNT films made from different constituent CNTs of diameters ranging from 1 nm for single-wall CNTs, to 2 nm for double-wall CNTs, and to 10–30 nm for multi-wall CNTs (MWCNTs). By measuring the morphology and electric conductivity of SWCNT, DWCNT and MWCNT films, this work aims to reveal the quantitative correlation between the sensor performance and relevant CNT properties. Interestingly, the best performance is obtained on Pt-NPs/MWCNTs/Gr H 2 sensors, which can be attributed to the compromise of the effective sensing area and electric conductivity on MWCNT films and illustrates the importance of optimizing sensor design.
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- PAR ID:
- 10382723
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Nano Express
- Volume:
- 3
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 2632-959X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 035004
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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