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Controlling the Activity and Stability of Pt-Based Electrocatalysts By Means of the Lanthanide Contraction
Herein we present a systematic study on the trends in activity of seven novel Pt-lanthanide electrodes (Pt5La, Pt5Ce, Pt5Sm, Pt5Gd, Pt5Tb, Pt5Dy and Pt5Tm). The materials are highly active, presenting a 3 to 6-fold activity enhancement over Pt [3-5], amongst the most active polycrystalline Pt-based catalyst ever reported. Moreover, our recent study showed that PtxGd is highly active in the nanoparticulate form [6]. On the bulk alloys, a Pt overlayer with a thickness of few Pt layers is formed onto the bulk alloys by acid leaching (Fig. 1A) [3-5]. The ORR activity versus the lattice parameter obtained by X-ray diffraction measurements follows a volcano relationship (Fig. 1B). Furthermore, we explain the trends in stability, and present the lattice parameter as a new descriptor that controls both the activity and stability of these materials. Using the lanthanide contraction we demonstrate that the electrocatalytic performance can be engineered by tuning the Pt-Pt distance.
References
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[2] I.E.L. Stephens, A.S. Bondarenko, U. Grønbjerg, J. Rossmeisl, I. Chorkendorff, Energy Environ. Sci. 2012, 5, 6744.
[3] M. Escudero-Escribano, A. Verdaguer-Casadevall, P. Malacrida, U. Grønbjerg, B.P. Knudsen, A.K. Jepsen, J. Rossmeisl, I.E.L. Stephens, I. Chorkendorff, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 130, 16476.
[4] P. Malacrida, M. Escudero-Escribano, A. Verdaguer-Casadevall, I.E.L. Stephens, I. Chorkendorff, J. Mater. Chem. A 2014, 2, 4234.
[5] M. Escudero-Escribano, et al., to be submitted, 2015.
[6] A. Velázquez-Palenzuela, F. Masini, A.F. Pedersen, M. Escudero-Escribano, D. Deiana, P. Malacrida, T.W. Hansen, D. Friebel, A. Nilsson, I.E.L. Stephens, I. Chorkendorff, J. Catal., in press., 2015, DOI: 10.1016/j.jcat.2014.12.012
Fig 1. (A) Schematic three-dimensional views of the Pt5M (M = lanthanide) structure during sputter-cleaning and after electrochemistry. (B) Experimental ‘activity-lattice parameter’ volcano plot: ORR kinetic current density measured at 0.9 V vs. RHE as a function of the lattice parameter and the Pt-Pt distance for polycrystalline Pt5M electrocatalysts after initial ORR activity (dark grey squares) and after 10 000 cycles between 0.6 and 1.0 V vs. RHE (grey circles).