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Title: Pt3Re alloy nanoparticles as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

Journal Article · · Nano Energy
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [1];  [3];  [2];  [3];  [1]
  1. Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States). Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
  2. Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). School of Chemical Engineering
  3. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Science (CNMS)
  4. Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States). Dept. of Chemistry

Development of renewable energy technologies requires advanced catalysts for efficient electrical-chemical energy conversion reactions. Here in this paper, we report the study of Pt-Re alloy nanoparticles as an electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). An organic solution approach is developed to synthesize monodisperse and homogeneous Pt3Re alloy nanoparticles. Electrochemical studies show that these nanoparticles exhibit an improvement factor of 4 in catalytic activity for the ORR compared to commercial Pt catalysts of similar particle sizes. Fundamental understanding of the structure-property relationship is established by combining material characterization using X-ray spectroscopy and atomically resolved electron microscopy, as well as Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. Lastly, our work revealed that an electronic modification of the surface properties of Pt by subsurface Re (ligand effect) accounts for the catalytic enhancement.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1348298
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1252011
Journal Information:
Nano Energy, Vol. 20, Issue C; ISSN 2211-2855
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 34 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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A One‐Pot Method to Synthesize a Co‐Based Graphene‐Like Structure Doped Carbon Material for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction journal November 2019
Sustainable and Atomically Dispersed Iron Electrocatalysts Derived from Nitrogen- and Phosphorus-Modified Woody Biomass for Efficient Oxygen Reduction journal December 2018