Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: Scanning probe block copolymer lithography (SPBCL), in combination with density-functional theory (DFT), has been used to design and synthesize hydrogen evolution catalysts. DFT was used to calculate the hydrogen adsorption energy on a series of single-element, bimetallic, and trimetallic (Au, Pt, Ni, and Cu) substrates to provide leads that could be synthesized in the form of alloy or phase-separated particles via SPBCL. PtAuCu (18 nm, ∼1:1:1 stoichiometry) has been identified as a homogeneous alloy phase that behaves as an effective hydrogen evolution catalyst in acidic aqueous media, even when it is made in bulk form via solution phase methods. Significantly, the bulk-prepared PtAuCu/C nanocatalyst discovered via this process exhibits an activity seven times higher than that of the state-of-the-art commercial Pt/C catalyst (based upon Pt content). The advantage of using SPBCL in the discovery process is that one can uniformly make particles, each consisting of a uniform phase combination (e.g., all alloy or all phase-segregated species) at a fixed elemental ratio, an important consideration when working with polyelemental species where multiple phases may exist.
Language: English
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: National Science Foundation, W. M. Keck Foundation, GlaxoSmithKline, Northwestern University, Sherman Fairchild Foundation, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, Harvard University, International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, Division of Materials Research, Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems, Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems, Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Awards: G1071863244, G1179596829, G1276186940, G1523888516, G2137585358, G230078430, G2379832748, G255020052, G318734614, G336680401, G3392305090, G3616359867, G4068070505, G438066039, G4433393426, G4712878820, NNCI: Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource, Collaborative Research: Integrated Measurement and Predictive Modeling of Adsorbate Coverage and Compositional Effects on Catalytic Activity, G6066762027, G7178204, G7259626872, G7570481651, G7744199482, Collaborative Research: IDBR: Type A: The Nanosizer: A New Tool For the Photochemical Fabrication of Bioactive Nanoarrays, G8073314406, CEMRI: Multifunctional Nanoscale Material Structures, G8230932042
OpenAlex ID: W2790189119