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Title: Stronger-than-Pt hydrogen adsorption in a Au22 nanocluster for the hydrogen evolution reaction

Journal Article · · Journal of Materials Chemistry. A
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/C8TA00461G· OSTI ID:1468196
 [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Univ. of California, Riverside, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Chemical Sciences Division. Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences

Atomically precise metal nanoclusters have recently emerged as a novel class of catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction. From first-principles density functional theory, we show in this paper that the eight coordinatively unsaturated (cus) Au atoms in the Au22(L8)6 cluster [L8 = 1,8-bis(diphenylphosphino) octane] can adsorb H stronger than Pt, thereby being a potentially promising catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). We find that up to six H atoms can adsorb onto the Au22(L8)6 cluster and they have close-to-zero Gibbs free adsorption energies (ΔGH). From the HOMO–LUMO gaps, frontier orbitals, and Bader charge analysis, we conclude that H behaves as a hydride or electron-withdrawing ligand in the Au22(L8)6 clusters, in contrast to the metallic H in thiolate-protected Au nanoclusters. Finally, our study demonstrates that ligand-protected Au clusters with cus Au sites will be the most promising candidates for realizing Au–H nanoclusters and can act as excellent electrocatalysts for the HER.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of California, Riverside, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1468196
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1434104
Journal Information:
Journal of Materials Chemistry. A, Vol. 6, Issue 17; ISSN 2050-7488
Publisher:
Royal Society of ChemistryCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 55 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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A hydrophobic semiconducting metal–organic framework assembled from silver chalcogenide wires journal January 2020
An Au 22 (L 8 ) 6 nanocluster with in situ uncoordinated Au as a highly active catalyst for O 2 activation and CO oxidation journal January 2019
Triple 1D1D superatomic bonding. Au 22 (dppo) 6 as a Π 4 - and Δ 2 -triply bonded cluster based on Au 11 assembled units journal January 2020
Reaction mechanisms at the homogeneous–heterogeneous frontier: insights from first-principles studies on ligand-decorated metal nanoparticles journal January 2019
Fabrication and study of the synergistic effect of Janus Ni 2 P/Ni 5 P 4 embedded in N-doped carbon as efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction journal January 2020
Engineering ultrasmall metal nanoclusters for photocatalytic and electrocatalytic applications journal January 2019
Non-Monotonic Trends of Hydrogen Adsorption on Single Atom Doped g-C3N4 journal January 2019