Finite-Size Effects in O and CO Adsorption for the Late Transition Metals

Emerging Pt-based intermetallic nanoparticles for the oxygen reduction reaction

The advancement of highly efficient and enduring platinum (Pt)-based electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a critical determinant to enable broad utilization of clean energy conversion technologies. Pt-based intermetallic electrocatalysts offer durability and superior ORR activity over their traditional analogues due to their definite stoichiometry, ordered and extended structures, and favourable enthalpy of formation. With the advent in new synthetic methods, Pt-based intermetallic nanoparticles as a new class of advanced electrocatalysts have been studied extensively in recent years. This review discusses the preparation principles, representative preparation methods of Pt-based intermetallics and their applications in the ORR. Our review is focused on L10 Pt-based intermetallics which have gained tremendous interest recently due to their larger surface strain and enhanced M(3d)-Pt(5d) orbital coupling, particularly in the crystallographic c-axis direction. Additionally, we discuss future research directions to further improve the efficiency of Pt-based intermetallic electrocatalysts with the intention of stimulating increased research ventures in this domain.

Terrace-Rich Ultrathin PtCu Surface on Earth-Abundant Metal for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

The activity and stability of the platinum electrode toward the oxygen reduction reaction are size-dependent. Although small nanoparticles have high Pt utilization, the undercoordinated Pt sites on their surface are assumed to have too strong oxygen binding strength, thus often leading to compromised activity and surface instability. Herein, we report an extended nanostructured PtCu ultrathin surface to reduce the number of low-coordination sites without sacrificing the electrochemical active surface area (ECSA). The surface shows (111)-oriented characteristics, as proven by electrochemical probe reactions and spectroscopies. The PtCu surface brings over an order of magnitude increase in specific activity relative to commercial Pt/C and nearly 4-fold enhancement in ECSA compared to traditional thin films. Moreover, due to the weak absorption of air impurities (e.g., SO2, NO, CO) on highly coordinated sites, the catalyst displays enhanced contaminant tolerance compared with nanoparticulate Pt/C. This work promises a broad screening of extended nanostructured surface catalysts for electrochemical conversions.

The ABC of Generalized Coordination Numbers and Their Use as a Descriptor in Electrocatalysis

The quest for enhanced electrocatalysts can be boosted by descriptor-based analyses. Because adsorption energies are the most common descriptors, electrocatalyst design is largely based on brute-force routines that comb materials databases until an energetic criterion is verified. In this review, it is shown that an alternative is provided by generalized coordination numbers (denoted by CN ¯ $\overline {{\rm{CN}}} $ or GCN), an inexpensive geometric descriptor for strained and unstrained transition metals and some alloys. CN ¯ $\overline {{\rm{CN}}} $ captures trends in adsorption energies on both extended surfaces and nanoparticles and is used to elaborate structure-sensitive electrocatalytic activity plots and selectivity maps. Importantly, CN ¯ $\overline {{\rm{CN}}} $ outlines the geometric configuration of the active sites, thereby enabling an atom-by-atom design, which is not possible using energetic descriptors. Specific examples for various adsorbates (e.g., *OH, *OOH, *CO, and *H), metals (e.g., Pt and Cu), and electrocatalytic reactions (e.g., O₂  reduction, H₂  evolution, CO oxidation, and reduction) are presented, and comparisons are made against other descriptors.

Bulk-like Pt(100)-oriented Ultrathin Surface: Combining the Merits of Single Crystals and Nanoparticles to Boost Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Single crystal surfaces with highly coordinated sites very often hold high specific activities toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and others. Transposing their high specific activity to practical high-surface-area electrocatalysts remains challenging. Here, ultrathin Pt(100) alloy surface is constructed via epitaxial growth. The surface shows 3.1-6.9 % compressive strain and bulk-like characteristics as demonstrated by site-probe reactions and different spectroscopies. Its ORR activity exceeds that of bulk Pt₃ Ni(100) and Pt(111) and presents a 19-fold increase in specific activity and a 13-fold increase in mass activity relative to commercial Pt/C. Moreover, the electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) is increased by 4-fold compared to traditional thin films (e.g. NSTF), which makes the catalyst more tolerant to voltage loss at high current densities under fuel cell operation. This work broadens the family of extended surface catalysts and highlights the knowledge-driven approach in the development of advanced electrocatalysts.

Recent advances in understanding and design of efficient hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts for water splitting: A comprehensive review

An unsustainable reliance on fossil fuels is the primary cause of the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions, which in turn lead to climate change. Green hydrogen (H₂), which may be generated by electrolyzing water with renewable power sources, is a possible substitute for fossil fuels. On the other hand, the increasing intricacy of hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts that are presently being explored makes it more challenging to integrate catalytic theories, catalytic fabrication procedures, and characterization techniques. This review will initially present the thermodynamics, kinetics, and associated electrical and structural characteristics for HER electrocatalysts before highlighting design approaches for the electrocatalysts. Secondly, an in-depth discussion regarding the rational design, synthesis, mechanistic insight, and performance improvement of electrocatalysts is centered on both the intrinsic and extrinsic influences. Thirdly, the most recent technological advances in electrocatalytic water-splitting approaches are described. Finally, the difficulties and possibilities associated with generating extremely effective HER electrocatalysts for water-splitting applications are discussed.

Data-Driven Investigation of Tellurium-Containing Semiconductors for CO2 Reduction: Trends in Adsorption and Scaling Relations

Light-assisted conversion of CO₂ into liquid fuels is one of several possible approaches to combating the rise of carbon dioxide emissions. Unfortunately, there are currently no known materials that are efficient, selective, or active enough to facilitate the photocatalytic CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) at an industrial scale. In this work, we employ density functional theory to explore potential tellurium-containing photocathodes for the CO₂RR by observing trends in adsorption properties arising from over 350 *H, 200 *CO, and 110 *CHO surface-adsorbate structures spanning 39 surfaces of 11 materials. Our results reveal a scaling relationship between *CHO and *H chemisorption energies and charge transfer values, while the scaling relation (typically found in transition metals) between *CO and *CHO adsorption energies is absent. We hypothesize the scaling relation between *H and *CHO to be related to the lone electron located on the bonding carbon atom, while the lack of scaling relation in *CO we attribute to the ability of the lone pair on the C atom to form multiple bonding modes. We compute two predominant orbital-level interactions in the *CO-surface bonds (either using s or p orbitals) in addition to bonding modes involving both σ and π interactions using the Crystal Orbital Hamiltonian Population analysis. We demonstrate that bonds involving the C s orbital are more chemisorptive than the C p orbitals of CO. In general, chemisorption trends demonstrate decreased *H competition with respect to *CO adsorption and enhanced *CHO stability. Finally, we uncover simple element-specific design rules with Te, Se, and Ga sites showing increased competition and Zn, Yb, Rb, Br, and Cl sites showing decreased competition for hydrogen adsorption. We anticipate that these trends will help further screen these materials for potential CO₂RR performance.

Exploring the Structure–Activity Relationship on Platinum Nanoparticles

The design of active and stable Pt-based nanoscale electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) plays the central role in ameliorating the efficiency of proton exchange membrane fuel-cells towards future energy applications. On that front, theoretical studies have contributed significantly to this research area by gaining deeper insights and understanding of the ongoing processes. In this work, we present an approach capable of characterizing differently-shaped platinum nanoparticles undergoing thermally- and adsorbate-induced restructuring of the surface. Further, by performing ReaxFF-Grand Canonical Molecular Dynamics simulations we explored the water formation on these roughened (“realistic”) nanoparticles in a H2/O2 environment. Taking into consideration the coverage of oxygen-containing intermediates and occurring surface roughening the nanoparticles’ activities were explored. Hereby, we succeeded in locally resolving the water formation on the nanoparticles’ surfaces, allowing an allocation of the active sites for H2O production. We observed that exposed, low-coordinated sites as well as pit-shaped sites originating from roughening of vertices and edges are most active towards H2O formation.

Electronic Asymmetric Distribution of RhCu Bimetallic Nanocrystals for Enhancing Trifunctional Electrocatalysis

Developing efficient and durable multifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of significant importance for many electrochemical energy devices, such as water electrolyzers, metal-air batteries, and fuel cells. Herein, the Rh-Cu alloy nanocrystals (NCs) are prepared with a simple wet-chemical approach. The tuning of morphology and the asymmetric electron distribution provide more efficient Rh-Cu bimetallic sites. Meanwhile, the incorporation of Cu into the Rh lattice could reduce the oxidation of Rh-Cu bimetallic sites and increase the catalytic stability. Under the tuning of the composition, the drastically enhanced electrocatalytic activities of HER, OER, and ORR are achieved in the Rh₆Cu₁ NCs with the cell voltage required to be as low as 1.55 V to accomplish an overall water splitting of 10 mA cm^-2 and a maximum power density of 142.58 mW cm^-2 for a zinc-air battery with good stability, representing the best trifunctional electrocatalysts for all we know. This work highlights the design and control of Rh-Cu NCs, which could be a potential alternative approach to trifunctional catalysis and further boosts the development of the bimetallic electrocatalysts in the energy conversion system.

Deactivation and regeneration of carbon supported Pt and Ru catalysts in aqueous phase hydrogenation of 2-pentanone

Aqueous phase conversion of biomass-derived molecules requires development of catalysts and operating strategies that create viable operation for extended performance as necessitated for industrial applications.

Insight on the Interaction of Methanol-Selective Oxidation Intermediates with Au- or/and Pd-Containing Monometallic and Bimetallic Core@Shell Catalysts

Using density functional theory (DFT), the interaction of crucial molecules involved in the selective partial oxidation of methanol to methyl formate (MF) with monometallic Au and Pd and bimetallic Au/Pd and Pd/Au core@shell catalysts is systematically investigated. The core@shell structures modeled in this study consist of Au(111) and Pd(111) cores covered by a monolayer of Pd and Au, respectively. Our results indicate that the adsorption strength of the molecules examined as a function of catalytic surface decreases in the order of Au/Pd(111) > Pd(111) > Au(111) > Pd/Au(111) and correlates well with the d-band center model. The preadsorption of oxygen is found to have a positive impact on the selective partial oxidation reaction because of the stabilization of CH3OH and HCHO on the catalyst surface and the simultaneous intensification of MF desorption. On the basis of a dynamical matrix approach combined with statistical thermodynamics, we propose a simple route for evaluating the Gibbs free energy of adsorption as a function of temperature. This method allows us to anticipate the relative temperature stability of molecules involved in the selective partial oxidation of methanol to MF in terms of catalytic surface.

Surface engineering of hierarchical platinum-cobalt nanowires for efficient electrocatalysis

Despite intense research in past decades, the lack of high-performance catalysts for fuel cell reactions remains a challenge in realizing fuel cell technologies for transportation applications. Here we report a facile strategy for synthesizing hierarchical platinum-cobalt nanowires with high-index, platinum-rich facets and ordered intermetallic structure. These structural features enable unprecedented performance for the oxygen reduction and alcohol oxidation reactions. The specific/mass activities of the platinum-cobalt nanowires for oxygen reduction reaction are 39.6/33.7 times higher than commercial Pt/C catalyst, respectively. Density functional theory simulations reveal that the active threefold hollow sites on the platinum-rich high-index facets provide an additional factor in enhancing oxygen reduction reaction activities. The nanowires are stable in the electrochemical conditions and also thermally stable. This work may represent a key step towards scalable production of high-performance platinum-based nanowires for applications in catalysis and energy conversion.

Platinum-based nanowires are promising for fuel cell applications due to their high catalytic activity. Here the authors report on hierarchical platinum-cobalt nanowires with high-index facets showing specific/mass activities for oxygen reduction reaction 39.6/33.7 times higher than commercial Pt/C catalyst.

Identifying the time-dependent predominance regimes of step and terrace sites for the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis on ruthenium based catalysts

Two types of active sites for CO dissociation exist in Ru particles. Step-edge sites deactivate during reaction.

A DFT study of molecular adsorption on Au–Rh nanoalloys

Density functional theory calculations are performed to investigate both mixing and adsorption properties of 38-atom and 79-atom Au–Rh nanoalloys at the nanoscale.

Surface Tension Effects on the Reactivity of Metal Nanoparticles

We present calculated adsorption energies of oxygen on gold and platinum clusters with up to 923 atoms (3 nm diameter) using density functional theory. We find that surface tension of the clusters induces a compression, which weakens the bonding of adsorbates compared with the bonding on extended surfaces. The effect is largest for close-packed surfaces and almost nonexistent on the more reactive steps and edges. The effect is largest at low coverage and decreases, even changing sign, at higher coverages where the strain changes from compressive to tensile. Quantum size effects also influence adsorption energies but only below a critical size of 1.5 nm for platinum and 2.5 nm for gold. We develop a model to describe the strain-induced size effects on adsorption energies, which is able to describe the influence of surface structure, adsorbate, metal, and coverage.

A DFT-based genetic algorithm search for AuCu nanoalloy electrocatalysts for CO₂ reduction

Using a DFT-based genetic algorithm (GA) approach, we have determined the most stable structure and stoichiometry of a 309-atom icosahedral AuCu nanoalloy, for potential use as an electrocatalyst for CO2 reduction. The identified core-shell nano-particle consists of a copper core interspersed with gold atoms having only copper neighbors and a gold surface with a few copper atoms in the terraces. We also present an adsorbate-dependent correction scheme, which enables an accurate determination of adsorption energies using a computationally fast, localized LCAO-basis set. These show that it is possible to use the LCAO mode to obtain a realistic estimate of the molecular chemisorption energy for systems where the computation in normal grid mode is not computationally feasible. These corrections are employed when calculating adsorption energies on the Cu, Au and most stable mixed particles. This shows that the mixed Cu135@Au174 core-shell nanoalloy has a similar adsorption energy, for the most favorable site, as a pure gold nano-particle. Cu, however, has the effect of stabilizing the icosahedral structure because Au particles are easily distorted when adding adsorbates.

CO desorption from a catalytic surface: elucidation of the role of steps by velocity-selected residence time measurements

Directly measuring the rate of a surface chemical reaction remains a challenging problem. For example, even after more than 30 years of study, there is still no agreement on the kinetic parameters for one of the simplest surface reactions: desorption of CO from Pt(111). We present a new experimental technique for determining rates of surface reactions, the velocity-selected residence time method, and demonstrate it for thermal desorption of CO from Pt(111). We use UV−UV double resonance spectroscopy to record surface residence times at selected final velocities of the desorbing CO subsequent to dosing with a pulsed molecular beam. Velocity selection differentiates trapping-desorption from direct scattering and removes influences on the temporal profile arising from the velocity distribution of the desorbing CO. The kinetic data thus obtained are of such high quality that bi-exponential desorption kinetics of CO from Pt(111) can be clearly seen. We assign the faster of the two rate processes to desorption from (111) terraces, and the slower rate process to sequential diffusion from steps to terraces followed by desorption. The influence of steps, whose density may vary from crystal to crystal, accounts for the diversity of previously reported (single exponential) kinetics results. Using transition-state theory, we derive the binding energy of CO to Pt(111) terraces, D(0)(terr) (Pt−CO) = 34 ± 1 kcal/mol (1.47 ± 0.04 eV) for the low coverage limit (≤0.03 ML) where adsorbate−adsorbate interactions are negligible. This provides a useful benchmark for electronic structure theory of adsorbates on metal surfaces.

Adsorbate diffusion on transition metal nanoparticles

Diffusion of adsorbates on transition metal nanoparticles is a precursor process for heterogeneously catalyzed reactions, and as a result, an atomistic understanding of the diffusion mechanism is very important. We systematically studied adsorption and diffusion of atomic and diatomic species (H, C, N, O, CO, and NO) on nanometer-sized Pt and Cu nanoparticles with different sizes and shapes using density functional theory calculations. We show that nanoparticles bind adsorbates more strongly than the corresponding extended single crystal metal surfaces. We find that there is a Brønsted-Evans-Polanyi-type linear correlation between the transition state energy and the initial state energy for adsorbate diffusion across the edges of Pt and Cu nanoparticles. We further show that the barrier for adsorbate diffusion across the nanoparticles edges can be estimated by the binding energy of the adsorbate on the nanoparticles. These results provide useful insights for understanding diffusion-mediated chemical reactions catalyzed by transition metal nanoparticles, which are widely used in heterogeneous catalysis.

Oxygen-induced changes to selectivity-determining steps in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction

The state of the electrocatalyst surface—including the oxidation state of the catalyst and the presence of spectator species—is investigated on Cu surfaces with density functional theory in order to understand predicted ramifications on the selectivity of CO₂ reduction between CH₄ and CH₃OH.

Active and selective conversion of CO2 to CO on ultrathin Au nanowires

In this communication, we show that ultrathin Au nanowires (NWs) with dominant edge sites on their surface are active and selective for electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO. We first develop a facile seed-mediated growth method to synthesize these ultrathin (2 nm wide) Au NWs in high yield (95%) by reducing HAuCl4 in the presence of 2 nm Au nanoparticles (NPs). These NWs catalyze CO2 reduction to CO in aqueous 0.5 M KHCO3 at an onset potential of -0.2 V (vs reversible hydrogen electrode). At -0.35 V, the reduction Faradaic efficiency (FE) reaches 94% (mass activity 1.84 A/g Au) and stays at this level for 6 h without any noticeable activity change. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that the excellent catalytic performance of these Au NWs is attributed both to their high mass density of reactive edge sites (≥16%) and to the weak CO binding on these sites. These ultrathin Au NWs are the most efficient nanocatalyst ever reported for electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO.

Electrochemical ammonia production on molybdenum nitride nanoclusters

Theoretical investigations of electrochemical production of ammonia at ambient temperature and pressure on nitrogen covered molybdenum nanoparticles are presented. Density functional theory calculations are used in combination with the computational hydrogen electrode approach to calculate the free energy profile for electrochemical protonation of N2 and N adatoms on cuboctahedral Mo13 nanoparticles. Pathways for electrochemical ammonia production via direct protonation of N adatoms and N2 admolecules with an onset potential as low as -0.5 V and generally lower than -0.8 V on both a nitrogen covered or a clean Mo nanoparticle. Calculations presented here show that nitrogen dissociation at either nitrogen vacancies on a nitrogen covered molybdenum particle or at a clean molybdenum particle is unlikely to occur under ambient conditions due to very high activation barriers of 1.8 eV. The calculations suggest that the nitrogen will be favored at the surface compared to hydrogen even at potentials of -0.8 V and the Faradaic losses due to HER should be low.

Computational Design of Core/Shell Nanoparticles for Oxygen Reduction Reactions

A computational strategy to design core/shell nanoparticle catalysts for oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs) is proposed based on multiscale modeling. Using a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) coupling method, we have studied the ORR on Pt-Cu core/shell nanoparticles with the size ranging from 3 to 8 nm. We have calculated the oxygen adsorption energy on the nanoparticle surface (a descriptor for ORR activity) as a function of the nanoparticle size and thickness of the Pt shell. We find that the Pt-Cu core/shell nanoparticles exhibit higher ORR activities than flat Pt(111) surfaces, consistent with experimental observations. We predict that the diameter of the core/shell nanoparticles should be larger than 7 nm to reach the peak of ORR activities. By examining the effects of ligand, quantum confinement, and surface strain, we confirm that the strain plays the dominant role on ORR activities for the core/shell nanoparticles. A universal relation between the surface strain and the oxygen adsorption energy is established based on which one can computationally screen and design core/shell nanoparticle catalysts for superior ORR activities.

Ligand-field theory-based analysis of the adsorption properties of ruthenium nanoparticles

The experimental design of improved nanocatalysts is usually based on shape control and is surface-ligand dependent. First-principle calculations can guide their design, both in terms of activity and selectivity, provided that theoretical descriptors can be defined and used in a prescreening process. As a consequence of the Sabatier principle and of the Brønsted-Evans-Polanyi relationship, an important prerequisite before optimizing the catalytic properties of nanoparticles is the knowledge of the selective adsorption strengths of reactants at their surface. We report here adsorption energies of X (H, CH3) and L (PH3, CO) ligands at the surface of bare ruthenium nanoclusters Run (n = 55 and 147) calculated at the DFT level. Their dependence on the topology of the adsorption sites as well as on the size and shape of the nanoparticles (NPs) is rationalized with local descriptors derived from the so-called d-band center model. Defining the descriptors involves the determination of the energy of effective d atomic orbitals for each surface atom. Such a ligand field theory-like model is in close relation with frontier molecular orbital theory, a cornerstone of rational chemical synthesis. The descriptors are depicted as color maps which straightforwardly yield possible reactivity spots. The adsorption map of a large spherical hcp cluster (Ru288) nicely confirms the remarkable activity of steps, the so-called B5 sites. The predictive character of this conceptual DFT approach should apply to other transition metal NPs and it could be a useful guide to the design of efficient nanocatalysts bearing sites with a specific activity.

Monodisperse Au nanoparticles for selective electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CO

We report selective electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide on gold nanoparticles (NPs) in 0.5 M KHCO3 at 25 °C. Among monodisperse 4, 6, 8, and 10 nm NPs tested, the 8 nm Au NPs show the maximum Faradaic efficiency (FE) (up to 90% at -0.67 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE). Density functional theory calculations suggest that more edge sites (active for CO evolution) than corner sites (active for the competitive H2 evolution reaction) on the Au NP surface facilitates the stabilization of the reduction intermediates, such as COOH*, and the formation of CO. This mechanism is further supported by the fact that Au NPs embedded in a matrix of butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate for more efficient COOH* stabilization exhibit even higher reaction activity (3 A/g mass activity) and selectivity (97% FE) at -0.52 V (vs RHE). The work demonstrates the great potentials of using monodisperse Au NPs to optimize the available reaction intermediate binding sites for efficient and selective electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CO.