The high platinum loadings required to compensate for the slow kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) impede the widespread uptake of low-temperature fuel cells in automotive vehicles. We have studied the ORR on eight platinum (Pt)-lanthanide and Pt-alkaline earth electrodes, Pt5M, where M is lanthanum, cerium, samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, thulium, or calcium. The materials are among the most active polycrystalline Pt-based catalysts reported, presenting activity enhancement by a factor of 3 to 6 over Pt. The active phase consists of a Pt overlayer formed by acid leaching. The ORR activity versus the bulk lattice parameter follows a high peaked "volcano" relation. We demonstrate how the lanthanide contraction can be used to control strain effects and tune the activity, stability, and reactivity of these materials.

QuantumATK is an integrated set of atomic-scale modelling tools developed since 2003 by professional software engineers in collaboration with academic researchers. While different aspects and individual modules of the platform have been previously presented, the purpose of this paper is to give a general overview of the platform. The QuantumATK simulation engines enable electronic-structure calculations using density functional theory or tight-binding model Hamiltonians, and also offers bonded or reactive empirical force fields in many different parametrizations. Density functional theory is implemented using either a plane-wave basis or expansion of electronic states in a linear combination of atomic orbitals. The platform includes a long list of advanced modules, including Green's-function methods for electron transport simulations and surface calculations, first-principles electron-phonon and electron-photon couplings, simulation of atomic-scale heat transport, ion dynamics, spintronics, optical properties of materials, static polarization, and more. Seamless integration of the different simulation engines into a common platform allows for easy combination of different simulation methods into complex workflows. Besides giving a general overview and presenting a number of implementation details not previously published, we also present four different application examples. These are calculations of the phonon-limited mobility of Cu, Ag and Au, electron transport in a gated 2D device, multi-model simulation of lithium ion drift through a battery cathode in an external electric field, and electronic-structure calculations of the composition-dependent band gap of SiGe alloys.

We present an efficient implementation of a surface Green's-function method for atomistic modeling of surfaces within the framework of density functional theory using a pseudopotential localized basis set approach. In this method, the system is described as a truly semi-infinite solid with a surface region coupled to an electron reservoir, thereby overcoming several fundamental drawbacks of the traditional slab approach. The versatility of the method is demonstrated with several applications to surface physics and chemistry problems that are inherently difficult to address properly with the slab method, including metal work function calculations, band alignment in thin-film semiconductor heterostructures, surface states in metals and topological insulators, and surfaces in external electrical fields. Results obtained with the surface Green's-function method are compared to experimental measurements and slab calculations to demonstrate the accuracy of the approach.PACS numbers: 68.47.Fg

Pt x Gd single crystals have been prepared in ultra high vacuum (UHV). This alloy shows promising catalytic properties for the oxygen reduction reaction. The samples were prepared by using vacuum deposition of a thick layer of Gd on a sputter cleaned Pt(111) single crystal, resulting in a ∼63 nm thick alloy layer. Subsequently the surfaces were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) of CO. A Pt terminated alloy was observed upon annealing the sample to 600 • C. The LEED and synchrotron XRD experiments have shown that a slightly compressed (2×2) alloy appear. The alloy film followed the orientation of the Pt(111) substrate half the time, otherwise it was rotated by 30 •. The TPD spectra show a well-defined peak shifted down 200 • C in temperature. The crystal structure of the alloy was investigated using ex-situ X-ray diffraction experiments, which revealed an in-plane compression and a complicated stacking sequence. The crystallites in the crystal are very small, and a high degree of twinning by merohedry was observed.

In this paper, we explore the notion that a negative alloying energy may act as a descriptor for long term stability of Pt-alloys as cathode catalysts in low temperature fuel cells. Using density functional theory calculations, we show that there is a correlation between the alloying energy of an alloy, and the diffusion barriers of the minority component. Alloys with a negative alloying energy may show improved long term stability, despite the fact that there is typically a greater thermodynamic driving force towards dissolution of the solute metal over alloying. In addition to Pt, we find that this trend also appears to hold for alloys based on Al and Pd.