Strong metal–support interaction improves activity and stability of Pt electrocatalysts on doped metal oxides

Abstract

Niobium and antimony doped tin oxide loose-tubes decorated with Pt nanoparticles present outstanding mass activity and stability, exceeding those of a reference carbon-based electrocatalyst. Physico-chemical characterisation and in particular X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrate that this observation can be ascribed to the strong metal-support interaction promoting electroactivity and Pt anchoring on doped metal oxide supports.

On the Influence of Composition and Structure of Carbon-Supported Pt-SnO2 Hetero-Clusters onto Their Electrocatalytic Activity and Durability in PEMFC

“…Furthermore, the obtained Pt/10wt %-SnO 2 /C and Pt/20wt %-SnO 2 /C catalysts exhibits 0.5-0.55 eV higher Sn 3d 5/2 binding energy (487.2 and 487.25 eV, respectively) than pure SnO 2 nanoparticles (486.70 eV [38]) which are in good agreement with [22,27], suggesting the electron transfer from tin oxide. The SMSI effect in the prepared Pt/x-SnO2/C catalysts induced by the formation of the Pt-SnO 2 clusters in which the electron donation from the oxide to Pt metal takes place enhances electron density on the latter and providing higher activity and stability of Pt nanoparticles [27]. The obtained results confirm that the SMSI effect exists but due to the low value of Pt 4f 7/2 binding energy shift its influence is expected to be limited.…”

“…This result confirms the electron transfer from Sn to Pt providing a more filled Pt d-band and the weaker chemisorption with oxygen-containing species, such as OH ads [22,28]. Furthermore, the obtained Pt/10wt %-SnO 2 /C and Pt/20wt %-SnO 2 /C catalysts exhibits 0.5-0.55 eV higher Sn 3d 5/2 binding energy (487.2 and 487.25 eV, respectively) than pure SnO 2 nanoparticles (486.70 eV [38]) which are in good agreement with [22,27], suggesting the electron transfer from tin oxide. The SMSI effect in the prepared Pt/x-SnO2/C catalysts induced by the formation of the Pt-SnO 2 clusters in which the electron donation from the oxide to Pt metal takes place enhances electron density on the latter and providing higher activity and stability of Pt nanoparticles [27].…”

“…The obtained XPS spectrums of studied catalysts contain Pt 4f 7/2 /Pt 4f 5/2 doublets suggesting metallic Pt 0 and (at higher binding energy) PtO ads and/or Pt(OH) 2 [27] due to partial surface oxidation of the Pt metal nanoparticles. The XPS spectrum of Pt 20 /C and Pt 20 /SnO 2 10 /C are given in Figure 3.…”

“…Thus the formation of Pt-SnO 2 clusters [25] on the carbon support surface may improve the catalyst ORR activity and the catalyst durability maintaining high catalyst layer conductivity [24]. High durability of the Pt-SnO 2 -based catalysts is attributed to the strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) that inhibits migration and agglomeration of the nanoparticles at the electrode surface [22,[26][27][28].…”

Preparation and characterization of Pt nanoparticles supported on a Fe‐doped hydroxyapatite‐activated Vulcan XC72 composite material

“…However, the methanol crossover from anode to cathode compartment, the formation of carbon monoxide, poisoning the noble metal electrodes, and the high cost of Pt are the major problems. Therefore, massive efforts have been poured into the research and development of low‐cost and high‐efficient catalysts using nonnoble metals . The previous research has documented that the Pt surface with (110) orientation has shown the higher current density than (111) and (100) orientation.…”