Recently, the research team led by Professors Zheng Weitao and Cui Xiaoqiang from the College of Materials Science and Engineering, Jilin University published an article titled Atomically Dispersed CrOₓ on Pd Metallene for CO-Resistant Methanol Oxidation in Nano Letters. This work reports a novel catalyst with atomically dispersed CrOₓ species anchored onto two-dimensional Pd metallene via bridging oxygen atoms. The catalyst delivers outstanding methanol oxidation performance, exhibits drastically boosted mass activity compared with commercial Pt/C, and can rapidly eliminate toxic CO reaction intermediates. This study offers an innovative strategy to enhance the electrocatalytic methanol oxidation performance via atomic-scale engineering of oxide-metal heterointerface.

Figure 1. Morphological characterizations of CrOₓ-Pd metallene.

Figure 2. Electrochemical methanol oxidation measurements of CrOₓ-Pd metallene.

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are regarded as promising candidates for electric vehicle electrification on account of their high energy density, excellent portability and convenient fuel supply. Nevertheless, the anodic methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) remains a major bottleneck restricting the advancement of DMFCs. Pt-based materials stand as the most efficient MOR electrocatalysts thanks to their distinctive electronic configurations. However, the exorbitant cost and poor durability of Pt-based catalysts impede the commercialization of DMFCs. In particular, reaction intermediates such as CO can strongly adsorb onto Pt surfaces, poisoning active sites and triggering severe performance decay. It is therefore urgent to develop low-cost, high-performance alternative electrocatalysts for DMFCs.

Metallene, an emerging class of atomically thin two-dimensional nanomaterials, has attracted tremendous research interest. Compared with conventional commercial nanoparticles, metallene maximizes the utilization of noble metals and exposes abundant accessible active sites. Notably, OH* intermediates serve as a critical species facilitating the conversion of CO* to CO₂ (CO* + OH* → COOH* → CO₂), yet their role is often overlooked. The unique electronic structure of metallene weakens CO* adsorption, but simultaneously suppresses the adsorption of OH*, resulting in unsatisfactory MOR activity. Hence, simultaneously strengthening OH* adsorption and lowering the adsorption energy of CO* on metallene is highly desirable yet remains a formidable challenge.

Qiu Yu, a doctoral candidate, and Researcher Fan Jinchang from the College of Materials Science and Engineering, Jilin University are the co-first authors of this paper. The corresponding authors are Professors Zheng Weitao and Cui Xiaoqiang from the same college. This research received generous financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Science and Technology Development Program of Jilin Province, the Independent Innovation Capacity Building Program of Jilin Provincial Development and Reform Commission, and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation.