Early Career Award: Decoupling the Electronic and Geometric Parameters of Metal Nanocatalysts
- Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States)
Central in many industrial processes (e.g., petroleum refining) and the realization of new energy platforms (e.g., fuel cells and biomass conversion) is heterogeneous catalysis. The performance of a catalyst is governed by interplay between electronic and geometric factors, but controlling these parameters to achieve efficient catalysis remains a grand challenge. The overall goal of this project was to decouple the electronic and geometric parameters of nanoscale metal catalysts for independent manipulation through the design and use of new architecturally controlled bimetallic nanocrystals. Specifically, shape-controlled core@shell nanocrystals were studied as catalysts. The binary composition of these structures provided a means of electronic control while the shape of the nanocrystals provided geometric control. Through a series of experiments with nanocrystals of different shapes and bimetallic compositions, the electronic and geometric parameters of such metal nanocatalysts were effectively decoupled for independent manipulation of catalyst performance. These concepts were applied toward new nanocatalysts for semihydrogenation, formic acid electrooxidation and for the oxygen reduction reaction. Ultimately, with the development of new synthetic strategies toward bimetallic nanocrystals, this research has advanced the design and synthesis of bimetallic nanocrystals as catalysts for diverse chemical transformations.
- Research Organization:
- Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division (CSGB)
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0010489
- OSTI ID:
- 1547311
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-IU-10489-13
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
A balancing act: manipulating reactivity of shape-controlled metal nanocatalysts through bimetallic architecture
Random Alloyed versus Intermetallic Nanoparticles: A Comparison of Electrocatalytic Performance