Design and Impact: Navigating the Electrochemical Characterization Methods for Supported Catalysts.

This review will investigate the impact of electrochemical characterization method design choices on intrinsic catalyst activity measurements by predominantly using the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on supported catalysts as a model reaction. The wider use of hydrogen for transportation or electrical grid stabilization requires improvements in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) performance. One of the areas for improvement is the (ORR) catalyst efficiency and durability. Research and development of the traditional platinum-based catalysts have commonly been performed using rotating disk electrodes (RDE), rotating ring disk electrodes (RRDE), and membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). However, the mass transport conditions of RDE and RRDE limit their usefulness in characterizing supported catalysts at high current densities, and MEA characterizations can be complex, lengthy, and costly. Ultramicroelectrode with a catalyst-filled cavity addresses some of these problems, but with limited success. Due to the properties discussed in this review, the recent floating electrode (FE) and the gas diffusion electrode (GDE) methods offer additional capabilities in the electrochemical characterization process. With the FE technique, the intrinsic activity of catalysts for ORR can be investigated, leading to a better understanding of the ORR mechanism through more reliable experimental data from application-relevant high-mass transport conditions. The GDEs are helpful bridging tools between RDE and MEA experiments, simplifying the fuel cell and electrolyzer manufacturing and operating optimization process.

Quantitative laser-matter interaction: a 3D study of UV-fs-laser ablation on single crystalline Ru(0001).

Laser ablation is nowadays an extensively applied technology to probe the chemical composition of solid materials. It allows for precise targeting of micrometer objects on and in samples, and enables chemical depth profiling with nanometer resolution. An in-depth understanding of the 3D geometry of the ablation craters is crucial for precise calibration of the depth scale in chemical depth profiles. Herein we present a comprehensive study on laser ablation processes using a Gaussian-shaped UV-femtosecond irradiation source and present how the combination of three different imaging methods (scanning electron microscopy, interferometric microscopy, and X-ray computed tomography) can provide accurate information on the crater's shapes. Crater analysis by applying X-ray computed tomography is of considerable interest because it allows the imaging of an array of craters in one step with sub-µm accuracy and is not limited to the aspect ratio of the crater. X-ray computed tomography thereby complements the analysis of laser ablation craters. The study investigates the effect of laser pulse energy and laser burst count on a single crystal Ru(0001) sample. Single crystals ensure that there is no dependence on the grain orientations during the laser ablation process. An array of 156 craters of different dimensions ranging from <20 nm to ∼40 µm in depth were created. For each individually applied laser pulse, we measured the number of ions generated in the ablation plume with our laser ablation ionization mass spectrometer. We show to which extent the combination of these four techniques reveals valuable information on the ablation threshold, the ablation rate, and the limiting ablation depth. The latter is expected to be a consequence of decreasing irradiance upon increasing crater surface area. The ion signal generated was found to be proportional to the volume ablated up to the certain depth, which enables in-situ depth calibration during the measurement.

Toward CO2 Electroreduction under Controlled Mass Flow Conditions: A Combined Inverted RDE and Gas Chromatography Approach.

The use of rotating disk electrodes (RDEs) is probably the most convenient way of studying simple electrode reactions under well-defined transport conditions. Standard RDEs become, however, less expedient when the studied electrode process is a complex one, leading to the formation of various reaction products. In these cases, the accurate detection and quantification of the formed products are desirable. If the formed products are gaseous, then the usual way of quantifying them is the use of online gas chromatography (GC), a method that is not compatible with open RDE cells. In order to overcome these difficulties, we present here a sophisticated inverted RDE (iRDE) cell design. The design combines various advantages: it is amenable to the same mathematical treatment as standard (downward-facing) RDEs; it can be operated airtight and coupled to online GC; and due to its upward-facing design, the electrode surface is less prone to blockage by any formed gas bubbles. The iRDE&GC design is tested using simple model reactions and is demonstratively used for studying the electrochemical reduction of CO2, accompanied by parasitic hydrogen evolution, on a silver electrode.

Intrinsic activity and poisoning rate for HCOOH oxidation on platinum stepped surfaces.

Pulsed voltammetry has been used to study formic acid oxidation on platinum stepped surfaces to determine the kinetics of the reaction and the role of the surface structure in the reactivity. From the current transients at different potentials, the intrinsic activity of the electrode through the active intermediate reaction path (j(theta = 0)), as well as the rate constant for the CO formation (k(ads)) have been calculated. The kinetics for formic acid oxidation through the active intermediate reaction path is strongly dependent on the surface structure of the electrode, with the highest activity found for the Pt(100) surface. The presence of steps, both on (100) and (111) terraces, does not increase the activity of these surfaces. CO formation only takes place in a narrow potential window very close to the local potential of zero total charge. The extrapolation of the results obtained with stepped surfaces with (111) terraces to zero step density indicates that CO formation should not occur on an ideal Pt(111) electrode. Additionally, the analysis of the Tafel slopes obtained for the different electrodes suggests that the oxidation of formic acid is strongly affected by the presence of adsorbed anions, hydrogen and water.

Intrinsic activity and poisoning rate for HCOOH oxidation at Pt(100) and vicinal surfaces containing monoatomic (111) steps.

Pulsed voltammetry is used to study formic acid oxidation on Pt(2n-1,1,1) surfaces and determine the effects of the size of the (100) terrace and the (111) step density on the reaction mechanism. The intrinsic activity of the electrode through the active intermediate reaction path (j(theta=) (0)), as well as the rate constant for the CO formation (k(ads)), are calculated from the current transients obtained at different potentials. For surfaces with wide terraces, j(theta=) (0) and k(ads) are almost insensitive to the step density, which suggests that step and terrace sites have a similar activity for this reaction. For narrow terraces (n<6), the intrinsic activity diminishes. The dependence of the reaction rates on the electrode potential is also elucidated. The CO formation only takes place in a narrow potential window, very close to the potential of zero total charge, while the direct oxidation takes place even when the surface is covered by anions. The different behavior for both reactions suggests that the adsorption mode of formic acid is different for each path.