Platinum monolayer electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction: Improvements induced by surface and subsurface modifications of cores

Abstract

This paper demonstrates that the ORR activity of Pt ML electrocatalysts can be further improved by the modification of surface and subsurface of the core materials. The removal of surface low-coordination sites, generation (via addition or segregation) of an interlayer between Pt ML and the core, or the introduction of a second metal component to the subsurface layer of the core can further improve the ORR activity and/or stability of Pt ML electrocatalysts. These modifications generate the alternation of the interactions between the substrate and the Pt ML, involving the changes on both electronic (ligand) and geometric (strain) properties of the substrates. The improvements resulted from the application of these approaches provide a new perspective to designing of the new generation Pt ML electrocatalysts. Copyright © 2011 Yun Cai and Radoslav R. Adzic.