No abstract

An image‐plate (IP) detector coupled with high‐energy synchrotron radiation was used for atomic pair distribution function (PDF) analysis, with high probed momentum transfer Qmax≤ 28.5 Å−1, from crystalline materials. Materials with different structural complexities were measured to test the validity of the quantitative data analysis. Experimental results are presented for crystalline Ni, crystalline α‐AlF3, and the layered Aurivillius type oxides α‐Bi4V2O11 and γ‐Bi4V1.7Ti0.3O10.85. Overall, the diffraction patterns show good counting statistics, with measuring time from one to tens of seconds. The PDFs obtained are of high quality. Structures may be refined from these PDFs, and the structural models are consistent with the published literature. Data sets from similar samples are highly reproducible.

We synthesized a new class of O2 electrocatalysts with a high activity and very low noble metal content. They consist of Pt monolayers deposited on the surfaces of carbon-supported nonnoble metal-noble metal core-shell nanoparticles. These core-shell nanoparticles were formed by segregating the atoms of the noble metal on to the nanoparticles' surfaces at elevated temperatures. A Pt monolayer was deposited by galvanic displacement of a Cu monolayer deposited at underpotentials. The mass activity of all the three Pt monolayer electrocatalysts investigated, viz., Pt/Au/Ni, Pt/Pd/Co, and Pt/Pt/Co, is more than order of magnitude higher than that of a state-of-the-art commercial Pt/C electrocatalyst. Geometric effects in the Pt monolayer and the effects of PtOH coverage, revealed by electrochemical data, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy data, appear to be the source of the enhanced catalytic activity. Our results demonstrated that high-activity electrocatalysts can be devised that contain only a fractional amount of Pt and a very small amount of another noble metal.

Time-resolved X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption fine structure, and first-principles density functional calculations were used to investigate the reaction of CuO and Cu(2)O with H(2) in detail. The mechanism for the reduction of CuO is complex, involving an induction period and the embedding of H into the bulk of the oxide. The in-situ experiments show that, under a normal supply of hydrogen, CuO reduces directly to metallic Cu without formation of an intermediate or suboxide (i.e., no Cu(4)O(3) or Cu(2)O). The reduction of CuO is easier than the reduction of Cu(2)O. The apparent activation energy for the reduction of CuO is about 14.5 kcal/mol, while the value is 27.4 kcal/mol for Cu(2)O. During the reduction of CuO, the system can reach metastable states (MS) and react with hydrogen instead of forming Cu(2)O. To see the formation of Cu(2)O, one has to limit the flow of hydrogen, slowing the rate of reduction to allow a MS --> Cu(2)O transformation. These results show the importance of kinetic effects for the formation of well-defined suboxides during a reduction process and the activation of oxide catalysts.