Alternative catalyst morphology

Recently, rhodium and ruthenium-based carbon-supported sulfide electrocatalysts were synthesized by different established methods and evaluated as ODP cathodic catalysts in a chlorine-saturated hydrochloric acid environment with respect to both economic and industrial considerations [46]. In particular, patented E-TEK methods as well as a non-aqueous method were used to produce binary RhjcSy and Ru Sy in addition, some of the more popular Mo, Co, Rh, and Redoped RuxSy catalysts for acid electrolyte fuel cell ORR applications were also prepared. The roles of both crystallinity and morphology of the electrocatalysts were investigated. Their activity for ORR was compared to state-of-the-art Pt/C and Rh/C systems. The Rh Sy/C, CojcRuyS /C, and Ru Sy/C materials synthesized by the E-TEK methods exhibited appreciable stability and activity for ORR under these conditions. The Ru-based materials showed good depolarizing behavior. Considering that ruthenium is about seven times less expensive than rhodium, these Ru-based electrocatalysts may prove to be a viable low-cost alternative to Rh Sy systems for the ODC HCl electrolysis industry. 

A large number of conducting polymers can be synthesised via the use of catalysts [28-30], but generally little control can be exercised over the morphology of the product and purification of the material obtained can be problematical. In recent years however, a number of alternative synthetic routes have been devised which involve soluble precursor polymers which can be more easily purified and cast onto substrates, with subsequent conversion (usually by heating) to the desired product, and... 

Beyond single component metal catalysts, the nanofabricated model catalysts can be used to study alloy catalysts, with compositions controlled by co-evaporation from two or more PVD sources. Alternatively, arrays of alternating particles or areas of two different materials can be made to study lateral communication between two types of catalysts at the nanoscale. For example, sequential reactions consisting of a first step on one type of catalyst and a second step on another catalyst particle could be studied systematically. The role of reactants and reaction intermediates as surfactants, affecting particle shape and morphology [163], will be possible to study in detail by in situ TEM studies in reactive environments. 

Titania-supported vanadia catalysts have been widely used in the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitric oxide by ammonia (1, 2). In an attempt to improve the catalytic performance, many researchers in recent years have used different preparation methods to examine the structure-activity relationship in this system. For example, Ozkan et al (3) used different temperature-programmed methods to obtain vanadia particles exposing different crystal planes to study the effect of crystal morphology. Nickl et al (4) deposited vanadia on titania by the vapor deposition of vanadyl alkoxide instead of the conventional impregnation technique. Other workers have focused on the synthesis of titania by alternative methods in attempts to increase the surface area or improve its porosity. Ciambelli et al (5) used laser-activated pyrolysis to produce non-porous titania powders in the anatase phase with high specific surface area and uniform particle size. Solar et al have stabilized titania by depositing it onto silica (6). In fact, the new SCR catalyst developed by W. R. Grace Co.-Conn., SYNOX , is based on a titania/silica support (7). 

Taking into account all these factors, it has been found that the most appropriate supports for PFMFCs catalysts are carbon blacks of ca. 250 m g BFT surface area, and the most widely used is Vulcan XC-72R commercialized by Cabot. ° ° Due to the importance of the surface chemistry of these supports, and its influence in the supported active metal phase, ° ° different chemical modifications of the support have been also investigated. The chemical nature of the carbon surface produces different electronic interactions between the noble metals and the carbon support, and affects the metal particle morphology, and influences the catalytic activity. Additionally, during the last few years, new alternative materials to carbon blacks have also been used, especially on the basis of their porous structure (nanotubes, mosoporous carbons) or their microstructure (nano- and microfibers, and microspheres). 

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