Silver-Graphene Nanoribbon Composite Catalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Alkaline Electrolyte.

Silver-graphene nanoribbons (Ag-GNRs) were prepared from the chemical unzipping of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by reaction with Na/K alloy, Ag(O2CCH3) and then CH3OH. Ag-GNRs exhibited improved electrocatalytic ability for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in 0.1 M KOH as compared to the underlying GNR substrate alone and displayed an earlier onset and higher currents than a commercial Ag/Carbon (Ag/C) catalyst. The Ag-GNR hybrid demonstrates an outstanding tolerance to CH3OH crossover which exceeds that of the commercial benchmark, 20 % Pt/C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]