Nanostructured materials corrosion/oxidation

Thin metalhc fihns play an important role in diverse fields of applications, with special emphasis on micro- and nanoelectronics for which the metals Al, Cu, Ag, Au, Ti and W are essential Additional fields of commercial interests are electrodes as well as reflective, corrosion-resistant, oxidation-resistant and abrasion-resistant coatings . Noble metals (periods 5 and 6 of groups 8-11 of the periodic table of the elements) are of special interest due to their manifold application in heterogeneous catalysis. Other metals used in specialized industrial applications or as components of more complex materials such as metal alloys are Ni, Pd, Pt, Ag and Au. For example, FePt-based nanostructured materials are excellent candidates for future high-density magnetic recording media . ... 

Wang, Heli he has worked at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the United States. He received a Ph.D. in corrosion science and materials chemistry from the Helsinki University of Technology in Finland. From 1998, he had worked with nanostructured semiconductors of metal oxides at the Department of Physical Chemistry, Uppsala University, Sweden. His research work has been in materials, electrochemistry, photoelectrochemistry, as well as fuel cell components. 

In order to be able to properly examine the inherent activity of minute amounts of OER catalysts, one needs a substrate with minimal interference, extremely slow OER kinetics of its own and extraordinary stability at high positive electrode potentials. The unique featiues of 3M s Pt-NSTF (nanostructured thin film) catalyst [12] such as superior durability, electrochemical inertness at high potentials, and the absence of corrosion interference due to exposed carbrui, made it a logical choice as a support [13, 14]. It is well known that pure platinum has a high overpotential for OER. For instance, at a current density of 1 mA/cm, the OER on platinum proceeds at a potential that is 0.47 V higher than oti single crystal ruthenium oxide [15]. Thus, the OER partial current density oti the Pt-NSTF substrate wiU be orders of magnitudes lower than on ruthenium, iridium, and other similar OER-active materials. 

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