Despite high material costs, platinum is a highly utilized metal in commercial applications due to its high catalytic activity. Surface ligands play an important role in the activity of platinum surfaces, and molecules present at surface sites can block or limit catalytic activity. Thiols and amines are commonly used in nanoparticle synthesis procedures so their effect on catalytic activity is particularly relevant for applications. We have investigated the binding of amines and thiols to platinum surfaces and their effect on the resulting catalytic activity. We use infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to evaluate the molecular layers and quantify the electrocatalytic activity of the resulting platinum surfaces towards electrochemical methanol oxidation using cyclic voltammetry. We find that while short exposure to thiols will substantially decrease platinum electrocatalytic activity, the effects of amines are less significant and depend on the amine molecular structure.

Effect of molecular ligands on platinum electrocatalytic activity

251st National Meeting (2016)

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