skip to main content

Attention:

The NSF Public Access Repository (PAR) system and access will be unavailable from 11:00 PM ET on Thursday, January 16 until 2:00 AM ET on Friday, January 17 due to maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience.


Title: Crystal structure engineering in multimetallic high-index facet nanocatalysts

In the context of metal particle catalysts, composition, shape, exposed facets, crystal structure, and atom distribution dictate activity. While techniques have been developed to control each of these parameters, there is no general method that allows one to optimize all parameters in the context of polyelemental systems. Herein, by combining a solid-state, Bi-influenced, high-index facet shape regulation strategy with thermal annealing, we achieve control over crystal structure and atom distribution on the exposed high-index facets, resulting in an unprecedentedly diverse library of chemically disordered and ordered multimetallic (Pt, Co, Ni, Cu, Fe, and Mn) tetrahexahedral (THH) nanoparticles. Density functional theory calculations show that surface Bi modification stabilizes the {210} high-index facets of the nanoparticles, regardless of their internal atomic ordering. Moreover, we find that the ordering transition temperatures for the nanoparticles are dependent on their composition, and, in the case of Pt3Fe1THH nanoparticles, increasing Ni substitution leads to an order-to-disorder transition at 900 °C. Finally, we have discovered that ordered intermetallic THH Pt1Co1nanocatalysts exhibit a catalytic performance superior to disordered THH Pt1Co1nanoparticles and commercial Pt/C catalysts toward methanol electrooxidation, highlighting the importance of crystal structure and atom distribution control on high-index facets in nanoscale catalysts.

 
more » « less
PAR ID:
10252212
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Volume:
118
Issue:
26
ISSN:
0027-8424
Page Range / eLocation ID:
Article No. e2105722118
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Abstract

    Engineering the crystal structure of Pt–M (M = transition metal) nanoalloys to chemically ordered ones has drawn increasing attention in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysis due to their high resistance against M etching in acid. Although Pt–Ni alloy nanoparticles (NPs) have demonstrated respectable initial ORR activity in acid, their stability remains a big challenge due to the fast etching of Ni. In this work, sub‐6 nm monodisperse chemically orderedL10‐Pt–Ni–Co NPs are synthesized for the first time by employing a bifunctional core/shell Pt/NiCoOxprecursor, which could provide abundant O‐vacancies for facilitated Pt/Ni/Co atom diffusion and prevent NP sintering during thermal annealing. Further, Co doping is found to remarkably enhance the ferromagnetism (room temperature coercivity reaching 2.1 kOe) and the consequent chemical ordering ofL10‐Pt–Ni NPs. As a result, the best‐performing carbon supportedL10‐PtNi0.8Co0.2catalyst reveals a half‐wave potential (E1/2) of 0.951 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode in 0.1mHClO4with 23‐times enhancement in mass activity over the commercial Pt/C catalyst along with much improved stability. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that theL10‐PtNi0.8Co0.2core could tune the surface strain of the Pt shell toward optimized Pt–O binding energy and facilitated reaction rate, thereby improving the ORR electrocatalysis.

     
    more » « less
  2. Ordered intermetallic nanoparticles are promising electrocatalysts with enhanced activity and durability for the oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR) in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The ordered phase is generally identified based on the existence of superlattice ordering peaks in powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). However, after employing a widely used postsynthesis annealing treatment, we have found that claims of “ordered” catalysts were possibly/likely mixed phases of ordered intermetallics and disordered solid solutions. Here, we employed in situ heating, synchrotron-based, X-ray diffraction to quantitatively investigate the impact of a variety of annealing conditions on the degree of ordering of large ensembles of Pt3Co nanoparticles. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that Pt3Co nanoparticles have a lower order–disorder phase transition (ODPT) temperature relative to the bulk counterpart. Furthermore, we employed microscopic-level in situ heating electron microscopy to directly visualize the morphological changes and the formation of both fully and partially ordered nanoparticles at the atomic scale. In general, a higher degree of ordering leads to more active and durable electrocatalysts. The annealed Pt3Co/C with an optimal degree of ordering exhibited significantly enhanced durability, relative to the disordered counterpart, in practical membrane electrode assembly (MEA) measurements. The results highlight the importance of understanding the annealing process to maximize the degree of ordering in intermetallics to optimize electrocatalytic activity.

     
    more » « less
  3. Abstract

    We present a one‐pot colloidal synthesis method for producing monodisperse multi‐metal (Co, Mn, and Fe) spinel nanocrystals (NCs), including nanocubes, nano‐octahedra, and concave nanocubes. This study explores the mechanism of morphology control, showcasing the pivotal roles of metal precursors and capping ligands in determining the exposed crystal planes on the NC surface. The cubic spinel NCs, terminated with exclusive {100}‐facets, demonstrate superior electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media compared to their octahedral and concave cubic counterparts. Specifically, at 0.85 V, (CoMn)Fe2O4spinel oxide nanocubes achieve a high mass activity of 23.9 A/g and exhibit excellent stability, highlighting the promising ORR performance associated with {100}‐facets of multi‐metal spinel oxides over other low‐index and high‐index facets. Motivated by exploring the correlation between ORR performance and surface atom arrangement (active sites), surface element composition, as well as other factors, this study introduces a prospective approach for shape‐controlled synthesis of advanced spinel oxide NCs. It underscores the significance of catalyst shape control and suggests potential applications as nonprecious metal ORR electrocatalysts.

     
    more » « less
  4. Abstract

    A method to introduce high‐index facets into colloidally synthesized nanoparticles is used to produce compositionally uniform Pt–M (M = Ni, Co, and Cu) and Rh–M (M = Ni and Co) tetrahexahedral nanoparticles. The realization of this method allows for a systematic study of catalyst activity as a function of particle composition for various electrooxidation reactions of liquid fuels (formic acid, methanol, and ethanol). The individual contributions of their high‐index facets, internal alloying of transition metals, and surface Bi modification to their electrocatalytic properties are experimentally explored, resulting in three key findings. First, the presence of high‐index facets is favorable for improving the catalytic activity for all three classes of reactions studied. Second, the effect of transition metal alloying on catalytic activity differs from reaction to reaction. For methanol electrooxidation in an acid electrolyte, due to the contribution from surface Bi modification being negligible, transition metal alloying can significantly the improve overall catalytic efficiency. However, for the other studied reactions, where the surface Bi is highly favorable for improving catalytic activity, there is little influence from transition metal alloying. Finally, multimetallic tetrahexahedral particles have improved stabilities during prolonged operation compared to their monometallic counterparts due to the presence of the alloyed transition metal atoms.

     
    more » « less
  5. Abstract

    Platinum‐based catalysts are critical to several chemical processes, but their efficiency is not satisfying enough in some cases, because only the surface active‐site atoms participate in the reaction. Henceforth, catalysts with single‐atom dispersions are highly desirable to maximize their mass efficiency, but fabricating these structures using a controllable method is still challenging. Most previous studies have focused on crystalline materials. However, amorphous materials may have enhanced performance due to their distorted and isotropic nature with numerous defects. Here reported is the facile synthesis of an atomically dispersed catalyst that consists of single Pt atoms and amorphous Fe2O3nanosheets. Rational control can regulate the morphology from single atom clusters to sub‐nanoparticles. Density functional theory calculations show the synergistic effect resulted from the strong binding and stabilization of single Pt atoms with the strong metal‐support interaction between the in situ locally anchored Pt atoms and Fe2O3lead to a weak CO adsorption. Moreover, the distorted amorphous Fe2O3with O vacancies is beneficial for the activation of O2, which further facilitates CO oxidation on nearby Pt sites or interface sites between Pt and Fe2O3, resulting in the extremely high performance for CO oxidation of the atomic catalyst.

     
    more » « less