Mesostructured thin films as electrocatalysts with tunable composition and surface morphology.

Among the most challenging issues in technologies for electrochemical energy conversion are the insufficient activity of the catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction, catalyst degradation and carbon-support corrosion. In an effort to address these barriers, we aimed towards carbon-free multi/bimetallic materials in the form of mesostructured thin films with tailored physical properties. We present here a new class of metallic materials with tunable near-surface composition, morphology and structure that have led to greatly improved affinity for the electrochemical reduction of oxygen. The level of activity for the oxygen reduction reaction established on mesostructured thin-film catalysts exceeds the highest value reported for bulk polycrystalline Pt bimetallic alloys, and is 20-fold more active than the present state-of-the-art Pt/C nanoscale catalyst.

Multimetallic Au/FePt3 nanoparticles as highly durable electrocatalyst.

We report the design and synthesis of multimetallic Au/Pt-bimetallic nanoparticles as a highly durable electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. This system was first studied on well-defined Pt and FePt thin films deposited on a Au(111) surface, which has guided the development of novel synthetic routes toward shape-controlled Au nanoparticles coated with a Pt-bimetallic alloy. It has been demonstrated that these multimetallic Au/FePt(3) nanoparticles possess both the high catalytic activity of Pt-bimetallic alloys and the superior durability of the tailored morphology and composition profile, with mass-activity enhancement of more than 1 order of magnitude over Pt catalysts. The reported synergy between well-defined surfaces and nanoparticle synthesis offers a persuasive approach toward advanced functional nanomaterials.

Design and synthesis of bimetallic electrocatalyst with multilayered Pt-skin surfaces.

Advancement in heterogeneous catalysis relies on the capability of altering material structures at the nanoscale, and that is particularly important for the development of highly active electrocatalysts with uncompromised durability. Here, we report the design and synthesis of a Pt-bimetallic catalyst with multilayered Pt-skin surface, which shows superior electrocatalytic performance for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). This novel structure was first established on thin film extended surfaces with tailored composition profiles and then implemented in nanocatalysts by organic solution synthesis. Electrochemical studies for the ORR demonstrated that after prolonged exposure to reaction conditions, the Pt-bimetallic catalyst with multilayered Pt-skin surface exhibited an improvement factor of more than 1 order of magnitude in activity versus conventional Pt catalysts. The substantially enhanced catalytic activity and durability indicate great potential for improving the material properties by fine-tuning of the nanoscale architecture.

Monodisperse Pt(3)Co nanoparticles as electrocatalyst: the effects of particle size and pretreatment on electrocatalytic reduction of oxygen.

Monodisperse Pt(3)Co nanoparticles have been synthesized with size control via an organic solvothermal approach. The obtained nanoparticles were incorporated into a carbon matrix and applied as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction to investigate the effects of particle size and pretreatment on their catalytic performance. It has been found that the optimal conditions for maximum mass activity were with particles of approximately 4.5 nm and a mild annealing temperature of about 500 degrees C. While the particle size effect can be correlated to the average surface coordination number, Monte Carlo simulations have been introduced to depict the nanoparticle structure and segregation profile, which revealed that the annealing temperature has a direct influence on the particle surface relaxation, segregation and adsorption/catalytic properties. The obtained fundamental understanding of activity enhancement in Pt-bimetallic alloy catalysts could be utilized to guide the development of advanced nanomaterials for catalytic applications.

A solid-state, open-system, differential calorimeter.

This article details the design, modeling, construction, and evaluation of an open system calorimeter that operates in a normal room environment to measure endothermic or exothermic events in a system subjected to a steady heat flux. The calorimeter is unique because it allows the measurement of energy and power from an "open" system, where a heat flux enters and leaves the calorimetric boundary in a well-controlled manner. It is also novel because it utilizes a solid state heating and cooling assembly that acts as an electronic heat reservoir. The system is capable of measuring power levels from a few milliwatts to several watts, and it has been designed and optimized to be nearly immune to variations at ambient temperature and room airflow. The calorimeter was modeled using lumped parameter electrical-thermal equivalent circuits in SPICE software. This modeling in the electrical domain led to the use of a mathematical correction factor that mitigates mismatches in thermal conduction paths between an active and a passive cell as well as correcting differences in the sensitivities of the flux sensors employed for heat flow measurement. After obtaining a viable design, a prototype was constructed and validated with precise input power delivered via electric joule heating of a resistive element.

Unique activity of platinum adislands in the CO electrooxidation reaction.

The development of electrocatalytic materials of enhanced activity and efficiency through careful manipulation, at the atomic scale, of the catalyst surface structure has long been a goal of electrochemists. To accomplish this ambitious objective, it would be necessary both to obtain a thorough understanding of the relationship between the atomic-level surface structure and the catalytic properties and to develop techniques to synthesize and stabilize desired active sites. In this contribution, we present a combined experimental and theoretical study in which we demonstrate how this approach can be used to develop novel, platinum-based electrocatalysts for the CO electrooxidation reaction in CO(g)-saturated solution; the catalysts show activities superior to any pure-metal catalysts previously known. We use a broad spectrum of electrochemical surface science techniques to synthesize and rigorously characterize the catalysts, which are composed of adisland-covered platinum surfaces, and we show that highly undercoordinated atoms on the adislands themselves are responsible for the remarkable activity of these materials.

Improving the hydrogen oxidation reaction rate by promotion of hydroxyl adsorption.

The development of hydrogen-based energy sources as viable alternatives to fossil-fuel technologies has revolutionized clean energy production using fuel cells. However, to date, the slow rate of the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) in alkaline environments has hindered advances in alkaline fuel cell systems. Here, we address this by studying the trends in the activity of the HOR in alkaline environments. We demonstrate that it can be enhanced more than fivefold compared to state-of-the-art platinum catalysts. The maximum activity is found for materials (Ir and Pt0.1Ru0.9) with an optimal balance between the active sites that are required for the adsorption/dissociation of H2 and for the adsorption of hydroxyl species (OHad). We propose that the more oxophilic sites on Ir (defects) and PtRu material (Ru atoms) electrodes facilitate the adsorption of OHad species. Those then react with the hydrogen intermediates (Had) that are adsorbed on more noble surface sites.

Rational Development of Ternary Alloy Electrocatalysts.

Improving the efficiency of electrocatalytic reduction of oxygen represents one of the main challenges for the development of renewable energy technologies. Here, we report the systematic evaluation of Pt-ternary alloys (Pt3(MN)1 with M, N = Fe, Co, or Ni) as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). We first studied the ternary systems on extended surfaces of polycrystalline thin films to establish the trend of electrocatalytic activities and then applied this knowledge to synthesize ternary alloy nanocatalysts by a solvothermal approach. This study demonstrates that the ternary alloy catalysts can be compelling systems for further advancement of ORR electrocatalysis, reaching higher catalytic activities than bimetallic Pt alloys and improvement factors of up to 4 versus monometallic Pt.