Pt-based Catalysts Research Articles

A Time-Efficient and Safe Method for Scale-Up Synthesis of Highly Active Pt-Based Catalysts

A Time-Efficient and Safe Method for Scale-Up Synthesis of Highly Active Pt-Based Catalysts

Robust p-d Orbital Coupling in PtCoIn@Pt Core-Shell Catalysts for Durable Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells.

Pt-based catalysts are playing increasingly important roles in fuel cells owing to their high catalytic activity. However, harsh electrocatalytic conditions often trigger atomic migration and dissolution in these catalysts, causing rapid performance deterioration. Here, a novel L10-PtCoIn@Pt core-shell catalyst is introduced, where indium (In) is incorporated into a PtCo matrix. This integration promotes p-d orbital coupling, optimizing the electronic structure of Pt and causing additional lattice strain within PtCo. Impressively, L10-PtCoIn@Pt exhibits remarkable activity and durability, with only a 5.1% reduction in mass activity (MA) after 120 000 potential cycles. In H2-O2 fuel cells, this cathode achieves a peak power density of 1.99W cm-2 and maintains a high MA of 0.73 A mgPt -1 at 0.9V. After enduring 60 000 square wave potential cycles, the catalyst maintains its initial MA and sustains the cell voltage at 0.8 A cm-2, exceeding the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 2025 targets. Theoretical studies highlight the enhancements originating from the modulated electronic structures and shifted d-band center of Pt induced by In doping and increased vacancy formation energies in Pt and Co atoms, affirming the catalyst's superior durability.

The Relationship between the Electronic State of Pt in Pt-Based Nanoparticle Catalysts and Their Electrochemical Catalytic Activity in the Oxidation of Small Organic Compounds

The Relationship between the Electronic State of Pt in Pt-Based Nanoparticle Catalysts and Their Electrochemical Catalytic Activity in the Oxidation of Small Organic Compounds

High-yield synthesis of FeNC as support of PtFe nanoparticles for the oxygen reduction reaction by a green ball milling method

Enhancing catalytic activity, durability and reducing costs are major challenges in commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Non-precious metal catalysts face durability challenges when applied to PEMFCs, while platinum (Pt)-based catalysts are hampered by their high costs and weak interactions with carbon supports, limiting their application in PEMFCs. Combining Pt-based catalysts with iron-nitrogen-carbon (FeNC) supports can improve the oxygen reduction reaction performance. However, traditional preparation methods for FeNC supports, such as liquid-phase and hydrothermal synthesis, are cumbersome and have low yield. Here, we introduce a simple ball-milling method to synthesize FeNC with high yield that achieves a high-surface-area and uniform dispersion of Fe atoms. The FeNC support anchors PtFe nanoparticles at FeNxsites. This enhances support-alloy interactions and suppresses particle aggregation. The obtained catalyst denoted as PtFe/B-FeNC exhibits an exceptional mass activity of 2.57 A mgPt-1at 0.9 V, representing a 12.2-fold increase compared to the commercial Pt/C. There is only 30 mV degradation for the catalyst after 120 k cycles, indicating outstanding stability. This research paves the way for the green synthesis of PtFe/B-FeNC with high yield, facilitating the development of commercial materials for other electrochemical devices.

Threshold carbonization exceptionally upgrading intrinsic activity of molybdenum carbide for alkaline hydrogen evolution.

Threshold carbonization exceptionally upgrading intrinsic activity of molybdenum carbide for alkaline hydrogen evolution.

Prediction of catalyst lifetime from short-term experimental results: A case study on dehydrogenation of heavy n-paraffins over Pt-based catalysts

Prediction of catalyst lifetime from short-term experimental results: A case study on dehydrogenation of heavy n-paraffins over Pt-based catalysts

Effectiveness evaluations of Pt-based catalysts for PEMFC: from pure to mixed materials

Effectiveness evaluations of Pt-based catalysts for PEMFC: from pure to mixed materials

Tailoring the d-band center in Pt-based catalysts for hydrogen evolution via transition metals incorporation

Tailoring the d-band center in Pt-based catalysts for hydrogen evolution via transition metals incorporation

Spin polarization regulation of Fe-N4 by Fe3 atomic clusters for highly active oxygen reduction reaction.

Spin polarization regulation of Fe-N4 by Fe3 atomic clusters for highly active oxygen reduction reaction.

Structural modulation of carbon-confined Pt-based catalysts with high-dispersed controllable tri-heterointerface and their MOR performance

Structural modulation of carbon-confined Pt-based catalysts with high-dispersed controllable tri-heterointerface and their MOR performance

Constructing Pt/ZnO@SiO2 composite structures to enhance the thermal stability and CO oxidation activity of Pt-based catalysts

Constructing Pt/ZnO@SiO2 composite structures to enhance the thermal stability and CO oxidation activity of Pt-based catalysts

Structural Regulation of Advanced Platinum-Based Core-Shell Catalysts for Fuel Cell Electrocatalysis

Platinum (Pt), a precious metal extracted from minerals, plays an important role as a catalyst in energy conversion and storage devices. However, Pt is expensive and a limited resource, so it is crucial to maximize its utilization. In the electrocatalytic process, the improvement of its utilization is contingent on enhancing its mass and specific activities, a goal that can be significantly realized through the deposition of a Pt-based shell layer on a nanosubstrate material, thereby producing a core-shell structure. This review gives an important overview on the characteristics of Pt-based core-shell catalysts, the structural regulation of the core-shell, and its effects on the electrocatalytic performance. The core-shell structure can significantly increase the ratio of surface Pt atoms per unit mass of Pt particles. Moreover, the lattice mismatch between the core material and the platinum shell can generate strain, which can modulate the magnitude of the adsorption-desorption force of the platinum-based shell layer on the active intermediates, and thus contribute to the modulation of the catalytic performance. In addition to the aforementioned characteristics, the electrocatalytic performance of Pt-based core-shell catalysts is significantly influenced by the core and shell structures. The core-shell structures have unique advantages over other types of catalysts, leading to the development of advanced Pt-based catalysts.

Hierarchically Ordered Macro-/Mesoporous N,P-Codoped Carbon with Fe-Co Dual Sites for Efficient Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction.

The development of high-performance, low-cost non-precious-metal electrocatalysts as alternatives to Pt-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is crucial for promoting the commercial application of fuel cells and metal-air batteries. In this work, we report a novel type of ORR electrocatalyst with Fe and Co sites anchored on N,P-codoped hierarchically ordered macro-/mesoporous carbon (FeCo/NP-HOMMC) through a facile one-pot controllable synthesis method with the aid of dual-templating technology. The FeCo/NP-HOMMC catalyst shows robust ORR performance under alkaline conditions with a half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.90 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), significantly surpassing the commercial 20 wt% Pt/C catalysts, while also exhibiting remarkable long-term stability and great methanol tolerance. Control experiments reveal that the superior performance of the FeCo/NP-HOMMC catalyst for ORR benefits from the synergistic catalysis of highly dispersed Fe and Co dual active sites, and the advantages of the unique hierarchically ordered macro-/mesoporous structure, which can provide improved accessibility active site, excellent conductivity, and maximized mass/charge transport.

Theoretical Investigation of Single-Atom Catalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Based on Two-Dimensional Tetragonal V2C2 and V3C3.

Developing stable and effective catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has been a long-standing pursuit. In this work, we propose a series of single-atom catalysts (SACs) by importing transition-metal atoms into the carbon and vanadium vacancies of tetragonal V2C2 and V3C3 slabs, where the transition-metal atoms refer to Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu. By means of first-principles computations, the possibility of applying these SACs in HER catalysis was investigated. All the SACs are conductive, which is favorable to charge transfer during HER. The Gibbs free energy change (ΔGH*) during hydrogen adsorption was adopted to assess their catalytic ability. For the V2C2-based SACs with V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, and Cu located at the carbon vacancy, excellent HER catalytic performance was achieved, with a |ΔGH*| smaller than 0.2 eV. Among the V3C3-based SACs, apart from the SAC with Mn located at the carbon vacancy, all the SACs can act as outstanding HER catalysts. According to the ΔGH*, these excellent V2C2- and V3C3-based SACs are comparable to the best-known Pt-based HER catalysts. However, it should be noted that the V2C2 and V3C3 slabs have not been successfully synthesized in the laboratory, leading to a pure investigation without practical application in this work.

Density functional theory studies of Pt-based catalysts for CO oxidation

Density functional theory studies of Pt-based catalysts for CO oxidation

Study of the self-degradation performance of a passive direct methanol fuel cell with an Fe-N-C catalyst.

Fe-N-C catalysts are considered promising substitutes for Pt-based catalysts at the cathode in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) owing to their great methanol tolerance. However, Fe-N-C-based DMFCs commonly suffer from a decreased performance under extremely high methanol concentrations and exhibit poor stability, while the underlying mechanism remains controversial. In this study, a self-degradation phenomenon in a passive Fe-N-C-based DMFC was investigated in detail. The DMFC with an optimized ionomer content and catalyst loading delivered an extremely high peak power density of 28.85 mW cm-2 when fed with 3 M methanol solution, while the peak power density of the cell rapidly declined to 16.61 mW cm-2 after standing for 10 days without any discharging operation. Several electrochemical measurements were designed and conducted to explore the mechanism for this phenomenon. The results of these measurements revealed that methanol molecules are chemically adsorbed on the surface of the Fe-N-C catalyst, and the bonding cannot be reversed using simple physical methods, leading to the isolation of active sites from oxygen. Herein, we provide a new perspective on passive Fe-N-C-based DMFCs that would be significant for the technological development of portable power devices.

Electronic interactions between neighboring functionalized guest Sb single atoms and Pt clusters enhance CO tolerance

Electronic interactions between neighboring functionalized guest Sb single atoms and Pt clusters enhance CO tolerance

Impact of carbon supports on the Pt-based catalyst activity and fuel cell performance under varied operational conditions

Impact of carbon supports on the Pt-based catalyst activity and fuel cell performance under varied operational conditions

Methanol-Tolerant Pd-Co Alloy Nanoparticles on Reduced Graphene Oxide as Cathode Catalyst for Oxygen Reduction in Fuel Cells

The design of efficient and cost-effective electrocatalysts to replace Pt in an oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is crucial for advancing proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technologies. This study synthesized Pd-Co bimetallic alloy nanoparticles supported on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) through a simple chemical-reduction method, making it suitable for low-cost, large-scale fabrication and significantly reducing the need for Pt. The nanostructures were systematically characterized using various analytical techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Electrochemical investigations revealed that the Pd-Co/rGO catalyst exhibits remarkable ORR performance in an alkaline environment, with an electrode-area-normalized activity rivaling that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst. Remarkably, Pd-Co/rGO demonstrated an onset potential (Eonset) of 0.944 V (vs. RHE) and a half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.782 V (vs. RHE), highlighting its excellent ORR activity. Furthermore, the Pd-Co/rGO catalyst displayed superior methanol-tolerant ORR activity, outperforming Pt/C and monometallic Pd/rGO and Co/rGO systems. The enhanced electrocatalytic performance is attributed to the smallest size, consistent shape, and good dispersion of the alloy structure on the RGO surface. These findings establish Pd-Co/rGO as a promising alternative to Pt-based catalysts, addressing key challenges such as methanol crossover while advancing PEMFC technology in alkaline media.

Revealing the CO Tolerance Mechanism in Acidic Hydrogen Oxidation Reactions on Platinum-Based Catalyst Surfaces.

The presence of trace CO impurity gas in hydrogen fuel can rapidly deactivate platinum-based hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) catalysts due to poisoning effects, yet the precise CO tolerance mechanism remains debated. Our designed Au@PtX bifunctional core-shell nanocatalysts exhibit excellent performance of CO tolerance in acidic solution during HOR and possess exceptional Raman spectroscopy enhancement. Through capturing and analyzing in situ Raman spectroscopy evidences on *OH, metal-O species and *CO evolution under 0.3 V, we confirm that oxygen-containing species on PtRu and PtSn catalysts promote the oxidation and desorption of *CO. While Ru enhances *CO adsorption on Pt, the primary CO tolerance performance of PtRu arises from *CO oxidation via a bifunctional pathway. Additionally, electronic structure of Sn reduces *CO adsorption on Pt sites, complementing the bifunctional mechanism to further enhance the CO tolerance performance of PtSn. These discoveries significantly deepen our understanding of the anti-poisoning mechanism of Pt-based catalysts in the HOR process and offer valuable insights for rational catalyst design.