Pt- and Pd-based nanoparticles have been studied extensively for electrochemical oxidation of fuels. Here we present two examples to demonstrate that by controlling nanoparticle structure and nanoparticle coupling to an oxygen deficient oxide support, both Pt- and Pd-based nanoparticles can be made more stable and more CO tolerant for electrochemical oxidation reactions.<br/><br/>Using FePtAu nanoparticles as an example, we will demonstrate that the presence of Au in FePtAu facilitates FePt structure transformation from chemically disordered solid solution structure to chemically ordered intermetallic structure, and further promotes formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR). The intermetallic FePtAu nanoparticles have a mass activity as high as 2809.9 mA/mg Pt and retain 92.5% of this activity after a 13 h stability test in 0.1 M HClO4 solution. The concept has been extended to other MPtAu nanoparticles, providing a general approach to advanced nanoparticle catalysts with desired activity and durability not only for FAOR, but also for methanol/ethanol oxidation reaction.<br/><br/>Using CuPd nanoparticles as an example, we demonstrate a strategy to stabilize Cu in 5 nm CuPd nanoparticles by coupling the CuPd NPs with perovskite-type W-O nanorods. The CuPd/W-O can stabilize Cu in 0.1 M HClO4 solution and become the best Pd-catalyst for the FAOR with its mass activity reaching and stabilized at 2086 mA/mgPd in a broad potential range of 0.40 to 0.80 V (vs RHE). The thesis makes it possible to study MPd-WO-interactions and MPd stabilization on enhancing MPd catalysis for various chemical reactions.

Controlling nanoparticle structure and nanoparticle interaction with oxide support to enhance electrochemical oxidation reactions

256th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.