Platinum Attachments on Iron Oxide Nanoparticle Surfaces
Platinum nanoparticles supported on metal oxide surfaces have shown great potential as heterogeneous catalysts to accelerate electrochemical processes, such as the oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells. Recently, the use of magnetic supports has become a promising research topic for easy separation and recovery of catalysts using magnets, such as Pt nanoparticles supported on iron oxide nanoparticles. The attachment of Pt on iron oxide nanoparticles is limited by the wetting ability of the Pt (metal) on ceramic surfaces. A study of Pt nanoparticle attachment on iron oxide nanoparticle surfaces in an organic solvent is reported, which addresses the factors that promote or inhibit such attachment. It was discovered that the Pt attachment strongly depends on the capping molecules of the iron oxide seeds and the reaction temperature. For example, the attachment of Pt nanoparticles on oleic acid coated iron oxide nanoparticles was very challenging, because of the strong binding between the carboxylic groups and iron oxide surfaces. In contrast, when nanoparticles are coated with oleic acid/tri-n-octylphosphine oxide or oleic acid/oleylamine, a significant increase in Pt attachment was observed. Electronic structure calculations were then applied to estimate the binding energies between the capping molecules and iron ions, and the modeling results strongly support the experimental observations.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1006299
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, 107(9):09B311-1 through 09B311-3, Vol. 107, Issue 9; ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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