Highly stable Pt monolayer on PdAu nanoparticle electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract

stability is one of the main requirements for commercializing fuel cell electrocatalysts for automotive applications. Platinum is the best-known catalyst for oxygen reduction in cathodes, but it undergoes dissolution during potential changes while driving electric vehicles, thus hampering commercial adoption. Here we report a new class of highly stable, active electrocatalysts comprising platinum monolayers on palladium-gold alloy nanoparticles. In fuel-cell tests, this electrocatalyst with its ultra-low platinum content showed minimal degradation in activity over 100,000 cycles between potentials 0.6 and 1.0 V. under more severe conditions with a potential range of 0.6-1.4 V, again we registered no marked losses in platinum and gold despite the dissolution of palladium. These data coupled with theoretical analyses demonstrated that adding a small amount of gold to palladium and forming highly uniform nanoparticle cores make the platinum monolayer electrocatalyst significantly tolerant and very promising for the automotive application of fuel cells.

Electrochemical Synthesis of Ammonia: A Low Pressure, Low Temperature Approach

“…There is evidence elsewhere in the field of electrochemical catalysis that nanostructured materials result in performance and selectivity enhancements, most notably in the large and growing bodies of literature focused on the development of low-poisoning, high-activity oxygen reduction reaction catalysts and catalysts for methanol electrooxidation. [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48] Lessons learned thus far from theory and experiment point towards the potential successful use of non-precious metals in multi-metallic nanostructured materials for enhanced electrocatalytic performance.…”

Promotion of oxygen reduction by a bio-inspired tethered iron phthalocyanine carbon nanotube-based catalyst

“…Although Pt and its alloys are known as the most efficient catalysts for activation of the strong oxygenoxygen double bond [3][4][5] , their application is limited by high costs and scarce reserves. To overcome this problem, low-cost, nonprecious metal catalysts have attracted much attention in the search for an alternative catalyst for a new generation of fuel cells and metal-air batteries [6][7][8][9][10][11][12] .…”

A copper-phyllosilicate core-sheath nanoreactor for carbon–oxygen hydrogenolysis reactions

“…Notably, the loss of active surface area by metal-particle growth is a major cause of deactivation for many supported catalysts. Strategies to mitigate particle growth comprise alloying with a higher-melting point metal 8 , tuning the properties of individual nanoparticles 9,10 and increasing the metal-support interaction energy by using specific oxides as carriers 11 . However, these approaches are not generally applicable because they restrict chemical composition and functionality.…”