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Zamora Zeledón JA, Stevens MB, Gunasooriya GTKK, Gallo A, Landers AT, Kreider ME, Hahn C, Nørskov JK, Jaramillo TF. Tuning the electronic structure of Ag-Pd alloys to enhance performance for alkaline oxygen reduction. Nat Commun 2021; 12:620. [PMID: 33504815 PMCID: PMC7840808 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-20923-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Alloying is a powerful tool that can improve the electrocatalytic performance and viability of diverse electrochemical renewable energy technologies. Herein, we enhance the activity of Pd-based electrocatalysts via Ag-Pd alloying while simultaneously lowering precious metal content in a broad-range compositional study focusing on highly comparable Ag-Pd thin films synthesized systematically via electron-beam physical vapor co-deposition. Cyclic voltammetry in 0.1 M KOH shows enhancements across a wide range of alloys; even slight alloying with Ag (e.g. Ag0.1Pd0.9) leads to intrinsic activity enhancements up to 5-fold at 0.9 V vs. RHE compared to pure Pd. Based on density functional theory and x-ray absorption, we hypothesize that these enhancements arise mainly from ligand effects that optimize adsorbate–metal binding energies with enhanced Ag-Pd hybridization. This work shows the versatility of coupled experimental-theoretical methods in designing materials with specific and tunable properties and aids the development of highly active electrocatalysts with decreased precious-metal content. Electrocatalyst development is key to improving the performance and viability of many electrochemical energy technologies. Here, the authors design Ag-Pd alloys with specifically tuned electronic structures to have enhanced oxygen reduction electrocatalysis and decreased precious metal content.
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Affiliation(s)
- José A Zamora Zeledón
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, 443 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.,SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA
| | - Michaela Burke Stevens
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, 443 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.,SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA
| | | | - Alessandro Gallo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, 443 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.,SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA
| | - Alan T Landers
- SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA.,Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, 333 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Melissa E Kreider
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, 443 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.,SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA
| | - Christopher Hahn
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, 443 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.,SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA
| | - Jens K Nørskov
- Catalysis Theory Center, Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Thomas F Jaramillo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, 443 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA. .,SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA.
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