Application of vertically ordered polyaniline nanofibers in enhancing the ORR activity of Pt catalysis

Pt-based nanocatalysts supported on carbon materials have exhibited remarkable catalytic activity in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, these catalysts still encounter challenges such as low utilization efficiency, weak binding strength with substrate and proneness to detachment from it. Consequently, we explore the potential application of electron-rich polymer as carrier in high efficiency ORR catalysts, the uniformly distributed Pt-PANI catalyst is successfully synthesized by taking advantage of ion-exchange property of polyaniline (PANI). As an emerging catalyst for ORR, Pt-PANI shows excellent ORR performance in acidic solution, the vertically aligned PANI nanoarrays accelerate the ion diffusion in electrolyte and promote the charge transfer at the interface, improving the catalytic activity of low-loading Pt-based catalyst. In short, this work provides a novel alternative beyond conventional carbonaceous materials for the selection of carriers for Pt-based catalyst.