Electrocatalyst surface stability

However, in the case of multimetallic catalysts, the problem of the stability of the surface layer is cmcial. Preferential dissolution of one metal is possible, leading to a modification of the nature and therefore the properties of the electrocatalyst. Changes in the size and crystal structure of nanoparticles are also possible, and should be checked. All these problems of ageing are crucial for applications in fuel cells. 

A number of metal porphyrins have been examined as electrocatalysts for H20 reduction to H2. Cobalt complexes of water soluble masri-tetrakis(7V-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin chloride, meso-tetrakis(4-pyridyl)porphyrin, and mam-tetrakis(A,A,A-trimethylamlinium-4-yl)porphyrin chloride have been shown to catalyze H2 production via controlled potential electrolysis at relatively low overpotential (—0.95 V vs. SCE at Hg pool in 0.1 M in fluoroacetic acid), with nearly 100% current efficiency.12 Since the electrode kinetics appeared to be dominated by porphyrin adsorption at the electrode surface, H2-evolution catalysts have been examined at Co-porphyrin films on electrode surfaces.13,14 These catalytic systems appeared to be limited by slow electron transfer or poor stability.13 However, CoTPP incorporated into a Nafion membrane coated on a Pt electrode shows high activity for H2 production, and the catalysis takes place at the theoretical potential of H+/H2.14... 

Several technical arrangements have been used successfully to immobilize this catalyst on an electrode surface as thin films.80-85 In such arrangements the metal sites in films show a dramatic increase in reactivity and stability toward C02 reduction into CO. Moreover, this kind of modified electrode (for instance [Re(bpy)(CO)3Br] incorporated in Nafion membrane) appeared as a good electrocatalyst in pure aqueous electrolyte.86 However, in such systems both CO and HCOO are also produced, and the total current yield of C02 reduction is lowered by the concurrent H+ reduction into H2. 

It has been recently demonstrated that the simplest of the cobalt porphyrins (Co porphine) adsorbed on a pyrolytic graphite electrode is also an efficient electrocatalyst for reduction of 02 into 1120.376 The catalytic activity was attributed to the spontaneous aggregation of the complex on the electrode surface to produce a structure in which the cobalt-cobalt separation is small enough to bridge and activate 02 molecules. The stability of the catalyst is quite poor and largely improved by using porphyrin rings with mew-substitu-tion.377-380 Flowever, as the size of the mew-substituents increases the four-electron reduction efficiency decreases. 

Techniques for attaching such ruthenium electrocatalysts to the electrode surface, and thereby realizing some of the advantages of the modified electrode devices, have been developed.512-521 The electrocatalytic activity of these films have been evaluated and some preparative scale experiments performed. The modified electrodes are active and selective catalysts for oxidation of alcohols.5 6-521 However, the kinetics of the catalysis is markedly slower with films compared to bulk solution. This is a consequence of the slowness of the access to highest oxidation states of the complex and of the chemical reactions coupled with the electron transfer in films. In compensation, the stability of catalysts is dramatically improved in films, especially with complexes sensitive to bpy ligand loss like [Ru(bpy)2(0)2]2 + 51, 519 521... 

For a long time, conventional alkaline electrolyzers used Ni as an anode. This metal is relatively inexpensive and a satisfactory electrocatalyst for O2 evolution. With the advent of DSA (a Trade Name for dimensionally stable anodes) in the chlor-alkali industry [41, 42[, it became clear that thermal oxides deposited on Ni were much better electrocatalysts than Ni itself with reduction in overpotential and increased stability. This led to the development of activated anodes. In general, Ni is a support for alkaline solutions and Ti for acidic solutions. The latter, however, poses problems of passivation at the Ti/overlayer interface that can reduce the stability of these anodes [43[. On the other hand, in acid electrolysis, the catalyst is directly pressed against the membrane, which eliminates the problem of support passivation. In addition to improving stability and activity, the way in which dry oxides are prepared (particularly thermal decomposition) develops especially large surface areas that contribute to the optimization of their performance. 

Electrochemical NO sensors based on platinized or electrocatalyst-modified electrodes often in combination with a permselective and charged membrane for interference elimination were proposed. Although the catalytic mechanism is still unknown, it can be assumed that NO is co or dinative ly bound to the metal center of porphyrin or phthalocyanine moieties immobilized at the electrode surface. The coordinative binding obviously stabilizes the transition state for NO oxidation under formation of NO+. Typically, sub-pM concentrations of NO can be quantified using NO sensors enabling the detection of NO release from individual cells. 

It became obvious that long-term stability of high surface area electrocatalysts was as important, or even more important than short-term activity. Luczak36 and Landsman pioneered the heat treatment of ternary alloy electrocatalysts in order to provide an ordered crystallite structure. This work was followed in Japan by Itoh and Katoh, and subsequently by... 

Besides activity, durability of metal electrode nano-catalysts in acid medium has become one of the most important challenges of low-temperature fuel cell technologies. It has been reported that platinum electrode surface area loss significantly shortens the lifetime of fuel cells. In recent years, platinum-based alloys, used as cathode electrocatalysts, have been found to possess enhanced stability compared to pure Pt. The phenomenon is quite unusual, because alloy metals, such as Fe, Co and Ni, generally exhibit greater chemical and electrochemical activities than pure Pt. Some studies have revealed that the surface stmcture of these alloys differs considerably from that in the bulk A pure Pt-skin is formed in the outmost layer of the alloys due to surface segrega-... 

Poly(amidoamine) dendrimers of the fourth generation with -OH terminal groups were used as templates to produce stable metal nanoparticles [170-172], The dendrimers (in aqueous solution) are first loaded with a predetermined amount of Cu + or Pt + metal ions following chemical reduction, metal nanoparticles are formed inside the dendrimer structure, where they are protected from agglomeration. This procedure permits both particle stability and control over particle size. Dendrimers containing Pt metal clusters were also attached to gold electrodes, and were found to be active as electrocatalysts for O2 reduction [172]. This demonstrates that the nanoparticles inside the dendrimer can mediate electron transfer processes between the electrode surface and reactants in solution. 

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