Conformational Effects of Pt-Shells on Nanostructures and Corresponding Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity of Au-Cluster-Decorated NiOx@Pt Nanocatalysts

Optimization of SnPd Shell Configuration to Boost ORR Performance of Pt-Clusters Decorated CoOx@SnPd Core-Shell Nanocatalyst

Fuel cells are expected to bring change to the whole human race when commercialized, however, the sluggish kinetics of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) severely hampers their commercial viability. Thus far, platinum (Pt) based catalysts are nearly inevitable due to the harsh redox environment of fuel cells. Thus, minimizing Pt metal loading and increasing Pt utilization is a paramount factor for realizing fuel cell technologies. In this context, herein, we developed a multi-metallic nanocatalyst (NC) comprising Pt-clusters (1 wt.%) decorated SnPd composite shell over cobalt-oxide core crystal underneath (denoted as CSPP). For optimizing the ORR performance of the as-prepared NC, we further modulated the configuration of the SnPd shell. In the optimum case, when the Sn/Pd ratio is 0.5 (denoted as CSPP 1005), the ORR mass activity (MA) is 3034.7 mA mgPt−1 at 0.85 V vs. RHE in 0.1 M KOH electrolyte, which is 45-times higher than the commercial Johnson Matthey-Pt/C (J.M.-Pt/C; 20 wt.% Pt) catalyst (67 mA mgPt−1). The results of physical inspections along with electrochemical analysis suggest that such high performance of CSPP 1005 NC can be attributed to the synergistic collaboration between Pt-clusters, PtPd nanoalloys, and adjacent SnPd domains, where Pt-clusters and PtPd nanoalloys promote the O2 adsorption and subsequent splitting, while the SnPd shell favours the OH− relocation step. We believe that the obtained results will open a new avenue for further exploring the high-performance Pt-based catalysts with low Pt-loading and high utilization.

Co-Existence of Atomic Pt and CoPt Nanoclusters on Co/SnOx Mix-Oxide Demonstrates an Ultra-High-Performance Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity

An effective approach for increasing the Noble metal-utilization by decorating the atomic Pt clusters (1 wt.%) on the CoO₂@SnPd₂ nanoparticle (denoted as CSPP) for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is demonstrated in this study. For the optimum case when the impregnation temperature for Co-crystal growth is 50 °C (denoted as CSPP-50), the CoPt nanoalloys and Pt-clusters decoration with multiple metal-to-metal oxide interfaces are formed. Such a nanocatalyst (NC) outperforms the commercial Johnson Matthey-Pt/C (J.M.-Pt/C; 20 wt.% Pt) catalyst by 78-folds with an outstanding mass activity (MA) of 4330 mA mg_Pt^-1 at 0.85 V vs. RHE in an alkaline medium (0.1 M KOH). The results of physical structure inspections along with electrochemical analysis suggest that such a remarkable ORR performance is dominated by the potential synergism between the surface anchored Pt-clusters, CoPt-nanoalloys, and adjacent SnPd₂ domain, where Pt-clusters offer ideal adsorption energy for O₂ splitting and CoPt-nanoalloys along with SnPd₂ domain boost the subsequent desorption of hydroxide ions (OH^-).

Pore Modification and Phosphorus Doping Effect on Phosphoric Acid-Activated Fe-N-C for Alkaline Oxygen Reduction Reaction

The price and scarcity of platinum has driven up the demand for non-precious metal catalysts such as Fe-N-C. In this study, the effects of phosphoric acid (PA) activation and phosphorus doping were investigated using Fe-N-C catalysts prepared using SBA-15 as a sacrificial template. The physical and structural changes caused by the addition of PA were analyzed by nitrogen adsorption/desorption and X-ray diffraction. Analysis of the electronic states of Fe, N, and P were conducted by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The amount and size of micropores varied depending on the PA content, with changes in pore structure observed using 0.066 g of PA. The electronic states of Fe and N did not change significantly after treatment with PA, and P was mainly found in states bonded to oxygen or carbon. When 0.135 g of PA was introduced per 1 g of silica, a catalytic activity which was increased slightly by 10 mV at −3 mA/cm² was observed. A change in Fe-N-C stability was also observed through the introduction of PA.

Recent Advancements and Future Prospects of Noble Metal-Based Heterogeneous Nanocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction and Hydrogen Evolution Reactions

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) both are key electrochemical reactions for enabling next generation alternative-power supply technologies. Despite great merits, both of these reactions require robust electrocatalysts for lowering the overpotential and promoting their practical applications in energy conversion and storage devices. Although, noble metal-based catalysts (especially Pt-based catalysts) are at the forefront in boosting the ORR and HER kinetics, high cost, limited availability, and poor stability in harsh redox conditions make them unfit for scalable use. To this end, various strategies including downsizing the catalyst size, reducing the noble metal, and increasing metal utilization have been adopted to appropriately balance the performance and economic issues. This mini-review presents an overview of the current state of the technological advancements in noble metal-based heterogeneous nanocatalysts (NCs) for both ORR and HER applications. More specifically, we focused on establishing the structure–performance correlation.

Atomic Pt-Clusters Decoration Triggers a High-Rate Performance on Ni@Pd Bimetallic Nanocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Both Alkaline and Acidic Medium

The development of inexpensive and highly robust nanocatalysts (NCs) to boost electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) strengthens the implementation of several emerging sustainable-energy technologies. Herein, we proposed a novel nano-architecture consisting of a hierarchical structured Ni@Pd nanocatalyst with Pt-clusters decoration on the surface (denoted by Ni@Pd-Pt) for HER application in acidic (0.5 M H2SO4) and alkaline (0.1 M KOH) mediums. The Ni@Pd-Pt NC is fabricated on a carbon black support via a “self-aligned” heterogeneous nucleation-crystal growth mechanism with 2 wt.% Pt-content. As-prepared Ni@Pd-Pt NC outperforms the standard Pt/C (30 wt.% Pt) catalyst in HER and delivers high-rate catalytic performance with an ultra-low overpotential (11.5 mV) at the cathodic current density of 10 mA∙cm−2 in alkaline medium, which is 161.5 mV and 14.5 mV less compared to Ni@Pd (173 mV) and standard Pt/C (26 mV) catalysts, respectively. Moreover, Ni@Pd-Pt NC achieves an exactly similar Tafel slope (42 mV∙dec−1) to standard Pt/C, which is 114 mV∙dec−1 lesser when compared to Ni@Pd NC. Besides, Ni@Pd-Pt NC exhibits an overpotential value of 37 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm−2 in acidic medium, which is competitive to standard Pt/C catalyst. By utilizing physical characterizations and electrochemical analysis, we demonstrated that such an aggressive HER activity is dominated by the increased selectivity during HER due to the reduced competition between intermediate products on the non-homogeneous NC surface. This phenomenon can be rationalized by electron localization owing to the electronegative difference (χPt > χPd > χNi) and strong lattice mismatch at the Ni@Pd heterogeneous binary interfaces. We believe that the obtained results will significantly provide a facile design strategy to develop next-generation heterogenous NCs for HER and related green-energy applications

Heterogeneous assembly of Pt-clusters on hierarchically structured CoOx@SnPd2@SnO2 quaternary nanocatalysts manifesting oxygen reduction reaction performance

Atomic Pt clusters in the heterogeneous interface of CoO_x@SnPd₂@SnO₂ possess high heteroatomic intermixing facilities, oxygen splitting and hydration reactions resulting in high performance ORR.