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Title: Tunable intrinsic strain in two-dimensional transition metal electrocatalysts

Journal Article · · Science

Tuning surface strain is a powerful strategy for tailoring the reactivity of metal catalysts. Traditionally, surface strain is imposed by external stress from a heterogeneous substrate, but the effect is often obscured by interfacial reconstructions and nanocatalyst geometries. Here, we report on a strategy to resolve these problems by exploiting intrinsic surface stresses in two-dimensional transition metal nanosheets. Density functional theory calculations indicate that attractive interactions between surface atoms lead to tensile surface stresses that exert a pressure on the order of 10 5 atmospheres on the surface atoms and impart up to 10% compressive strain, with the exact magnitude inversely proportional to the nanosheet thickness. Atomic-level control of thickness thus enables generation and fine-tuning of intrinsic strain to optimize catalytic reactivity, which was confirmed experimentally on Pd(110) nanosheets for the oxygen reduction and hydrogen evolution reactions, with activity enhancements that were more than an order of magnitude greater than those of their nanoparticle counterparts.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0010379; EE0007270; E-AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1547726
Journal Information:
Science, Journal Name: Science Vol. 363 Journal Issue: 6429; ISSN 0036-8075
Publisher:
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 265 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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