The emerging hydrogen economy addresses environmental and energy challenges by envisaging the production of electricity using proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Hydrogen can be produced by reforming hydrocarbons and alcohols, which leads to hydrogen containing significant amounts of carbon monoxide (CO). However, CO readily chemisorbs and poisons Pt-containing electrocatalysts. Consequently, an understanding of Pt-COads interactions is of paramount importance to the design and fabrication of novel CO-tolerant electrode materials. The COads electrooxidation on Pt gives rise to a prepeak and two peaks (Figure 1). The assignment of the three voltammetric features remains unclear.                         Data obtained using single crystal electrodes can help to understand the CO oxidation process but can hardly be applied to Pt nanoparticles. Research on the electrocatalytic properties of unsupported and preferentially oriented Pt nanoparticles is expected to shed light on the missing link of their reactivity to size, and structure.

Platinum activity for CO electrooxidation: From single crystal surfaces to oriented nanosurfaces and real nanoparticles

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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