Sublayered Thin Films of Hydrated Anion Exchange Ionomer for Fuel Cells Formed on SiO2 and Pt Substrates Analyzed by Neutron Reflectometry under Controlled Temperature and Humidity Conditions.

Anion-conductive ionomers are used for electrolyte membranes in membrane-electrode assemblies and for binders in catalyst layers in anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs). The conformations of these ionomers as well as their water distribution are important for designing new efficient/durable anion-conductive ionomers for AEMFCs. For a deeper understanding of the distribution of deuterium oxide (D2O) as a function of depth, neutron reflectometry (NR) was carried out on thin films of an anion exchange ionomer, BAF-QAF, with a thickness of approximately 60 nm formed on a thermally formed SiO2 film on Si(100) and on a 20 nm Pt layer deposited on the SiO2 film at a temperature of 60 °C and relative humidities of 0, 50, 70, and 90%. Clear NR modulation was obtained under each condition. The NR data were fit very well with a three-sublayered model parallel to the substrate with different densities of BAF-QAF and D2O. The influence of the SiO2 and Pt substrates was observed not only at the BAF-QAF/substrate interface but also on the entire thin film. The D2O absorption/desorption behavior in each sublayer differed in the BAF-QAF films cast on SiO2 and Pt. The BAF-QAF/SiO2 interface was rather hydrophilic, while the BAF-QAF/Pt interface was very hydrophobic.

Conformational Change in Molecular Assembly of Nickel(II) Tetra(n-propyl)porphycene Triggered by Potential Manipulation.

Metal-coordinated porphyrin and related compounds are important for developing molecular architectures that mimic enzymes. Porphycene, a structural isomer of porphyrin, has shown unique properties in semiartificial myoglobin. To explore its potential as a molecular building block, we studied the molecular assembly of nickel(II) tetra(n-propyl)porphycene (NiTPrPc), a metalloporphycene with introduced tetra n-propyl moieties, on the Au(111) electrode surface using in situ scanning tunneling microscopy. Because of the low molecular symmetry of NiTPrPc, the molecular assembly undergoes unique phase transitions due to conformational change of the n-propyl moieties. The phase transitions can be precisely controlled by the electrode potential, demonstrating that the latter can play an important role in the porphycene molecular assembly on Au surface. This new discovery indicates possible uses of this porphycene framework in molecular engineering.

Tuning Porphyrin Assembly and Electrochemical Catalytic Activity with Halogen Substituents.

The adlayers of three metalloporphyrins, 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-methoxyphenyl)porphyrin cobalt(II) (CoTMePP), 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-bromophenyl)porphyrin cobalt(II) (CoTBrPP), and 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-iodophenyl)porphyrin cobalt(II) (CoTIPP), on Au(111) were investigated at the solid-liquid interface under electrochemical conditions. In situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) was employed to investigate the adlayer structures of CoTMePP, CoTBrPP, and CoTIPP in HClO4 solution. Highly ordered adlayers of the three metalloporphyrins were formed on the Au(111) electrode surface by simple immersion into benzene solutions containing each compound. The adlayer structure of the three cobalt porphyrin derivatives was influenced by the functional group on the phenyl moieties. In particular, a characteristic molecular assembly of CoTIPP molecules was found on Au(111) as a result of the I···I interactions between CoTIPP molecules. The adlattice constants increased in the order -OCH3 < -Br < -I in the phenyl groups. The in situ STM observations showed that the CoTMePP adlayer changed during positive potential manipulation in 0.1 M HClO4, whereas these adlayers were stable in the potential range from 0.90 to 0 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. A dependence upon the functional groups among the three CoTPP derivatives was clearly found in the adlattice constants and O2 reduction potentials, revealing that the two-dimensional (2D) molecular assembly and electrochemical activity for dioxygen reduction of the tetraphenylporphyrin derivatives can be tuned by introducing functional groups at the 4 positions of the phenyl moieties, especially iodine substituents.

Atomically Flat Pt Skin and Striking Enrichment of Co in Underlying Alloy at Pt3Co(111) Single Crystal with Unprecedented Activity for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

By the use of in situ scanning tunneling microscopy and surface X-ray scattering techniques, we have clarified the surface structure and the layer-by-layer compositions of a Pt skin/Pt3Co(111) single-crystal electrode, which exhibited extremely high activity for the oxygen reduction reaction. The topmost layer was found to be an atomically flat Pt skin with (1 × 1) structure. Cobalt was enriched in the second layer up to 98 atom %, whereas the Co content in the third and fourth layers was slightly smaller than that in the bulk. By X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the Co in the subsurface layers was found to be positively charged, which is consistent with an electronic modification of the Pt skin. The extremely high activity at the Pt skin/Pt3Co(111) single crystal is correlated with this specific surface structure.