Pt-encapsulated Pd-Co nanoalloy electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells

A new nanomagnetic Pd-Co bimetallic alloy as catalyst in the Mizoroki-Heck and Buchwald-Hartwig amination reactions in aqueous media

A Pd-Co bimetallic alloy encapsulated in melamine-based dendrimer supported on magnetic nanoparticles denoted as γ-Fe2O3@MBD/Pd-Co was synthesized by a facile co-complexation-reduction method and characterized sufficiently. The catalytic evaluation of γ-Fe2O3@MBD/Pd-Co showed promising results in the Mizoroki-Heck and Buchwald-Hartwig amination reactions of various iodo-, bromo- and challenging chloroarenes in aqueous media. The synergetic cooperative effect of both Pd and Co and dispersion of the catalyst in water due to the encapsulation of γ-Fe2O3 by melamine-based dendrimer lead to high catalytic performance compared with the monometallic counterparts. The dispersion of the magnetic catalyst also facilitates the recovery and reuse of the catalyst by ten consecutive extraction and final magnetic isolation with no loss of catalytic activity, keeping its structure unaltered.

A review on advances in green treatment of glycerol waste with a focus on electro-oxidation pathway

Over the past decades, research efforts are being devoted into utilizing the biomass waste as a major source of green energy to maintain the economic, environmental, and social sustainability. Specifically, there is an emerging consensus on the significance of glycerol (an underutilised waste from biodiesel industry) as a cheap, non-toxic, and renewable source for valuable chemicals synthesis. There are numerous methods enacted to convert this glycerol waste to tartronic acid, mesoxalic acid, glyceraldehyde, dihydroxyacetone, oxalic acid and so on. Among these, the green electro-oxidation technique is one of the techniques that possesses potential for industrial application due to advantages such as non-toxicity process, fast response, and lower energy consumption. The current review covers the general understanding on commonly used techniques for alcohol (C₁ & C₂) conversion, with a specific insight on glycerol (C₃) electro-oxidation (GOR). Since catalysts are the backbone of chemical reaction, they are responsible for the overall economy prospect of any processes. To this end, a comprehensive review on catalysts, which include noble metals, non-noble metals, and non-metals anchored over various supports are incorporated in this review. Moreover, a fundamental insight into the development of future electrocatalysts for glycerol oxidation along with products analysis is also presented.

Platinum-trimer decorated cobalt-palladium core-shell nanocatalyst with promising performance for oxygen reduction reaction

Advanced electrocatalysts with low platinum content, high activity and durability for the oxygen reduction reaction can benefit the widespread commercial use of fuel cell technology. Here, we report a platinum-trimer decorated cobalt-palladium core-shell nanocatalyst with a low platinum loading of only 2.4 wt% for the use in alkaline fuel cell cathodes. This ternary catalyst shows a mass activity that is enhanced by a factor of 30.6 relative to a commercial platinum catalyst, which is attributed to the unique charge localization induced by platinum-trimer decoration. The high stability of the decorated trimers endows the catalyst with an outstanding durability, maintaining decent electrocatalytic activity with no degradation for more than 322,000 potential cycles in alkaline electrolyte. These findings are expected to be useful for surface engineering and design of advanced fuel cell catalysts with atomic-scale platinum decoration.

Fuel cells are promising for converting fuel into electricity, but rely on development of high-performance catalysts for oxygen reduction. Here the authors report a highly durable platinum-trimer decorated cobalt-palladium catalyst with low platinum loading for electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction.

First principles study of bimetallic Ni13-nAgn nano-clusters (n = 0-13): Structural, mixing, electronic, and magnetic properties

Using spin polarized density functional theory based calculations, combined with ab initio molecular dynamics simulation, we carry out a systematic investigation of the bimetallic Ni_13-nAg_n nano-clusters, for all compositions. This includes prediction of the geometry, mixing behavior, and electronic properties. Our study reveals a tendency towards the formation of a core-shell like structure, following the rule of putting Ni in a high coordination site and Ag in a low coordination site. Our calculations predict negative mixing energies for the entire composition range, indicating mixing to be favored for the bimetallic small sized Ni-Ag clusters, irrespective of the compositions. The magic composition with the highest stability is found for the NiAg₁₂ alloy cluster. We investigate the microscopic origin of a core-shell like structure with negative mixing energy, in which the Ni-Ag inter-facial interaction is found to play a role. We also study the magnetic properties of the Ni-Ag alloy clusters. The Ni dominated magnetism consists of parallel alignment of Ni moments while the tiny moments on Ag align in anti-parallel to Ni moments. The hybridization with the Ag environment causes reduction of Ni moment.

Surfactant free synthesis of high surface area Pt@PdM3 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) core/shell electrocatalysts with enhanced electrocatalytic activity and durability for PEM fuel cell applications

High surface area core/shell nanostructures of Pt covered Pd alloys were synthesized and they exhibited enhanced electrocatalytic activity in oxygen reduction reactions.

Surface structures and electrochemical activities of Pt overlayers on Ir nanoparticles

Pt overlayers were deposited on carbon-supported Ir nanoparticles with various coverages. Structural and electrochemical characterizations were performed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction, high-resolution powder diffraction (HRPD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES), cyclic voltammetry (CV), CO stripping voltammetry, and N2O reduction. The surface of Ir nanoparticles was covered with Pt overlayers with thickness varying from the submonolayer scale to more than two monolayers. Surface analyses such as CV and CO stripping voltammetry indicated that the Pt overlayers were uniformly deposited on the Ir nanoparticles, and the resultant Pt overlayers exhibited gradual changes in surface characteristics toward the Pt surface as the surface coverage increased. The distinct CO stripping characteristics and the enhanced Pt utilization affected electrocatalytic activities for methanol oxidation. The electrochemical stability of the Pt overlayer was compared with a commercial carbon-supported Pt catalyst by conducting a potential cycling experiment.