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Oxygen Electrocatalysis on Dealloyed Pt Nanocatalysts

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Abstract

We review the fundamental principles, the preparation and catalytic performance of dealloyed Pt core–shell electrocatalysts for the electroreduction of molecular oxygen. This reaction is key to the efficiency of all fuel cell cathodes, as the oxygen electrocatalysis exhibits much larger kinetic overpotentials compared to typical fuel cell anode reactions. We discuss structural surface lattice strain in metal overlayers and show that they serve as models for nanostructured core–shell catalysts. We address preparation pathways with particular emphasis on the dealloying routes. Trends in reactivity of different dealloyed Pt core–shell catalysts are compared with a focus on the dealloyed Pt–Ni alloy system. Size effects are discussed. Practical catalytic performance data in automotive fuel cells and under automotive fuel cell conditions is provided and contrasted to other state-of-art catalyst concepts. This review concludes that dealloyed Pt core–shell cathode catalysts are currently the most attractive commercialization candidate for automotive applications.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Reprinted from “Electrocatalysis for fuel cells: a non and low Platinum approach” [60]—with permission of Springer. Remark: Graph is based on data presented in [48]

Fig. 3

Reprinted with permission from Ref. [40]—Copyright 2013 American Chemical Society

Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Reprinted from Ref. [46] (Top. Catal.), with permission of Springer. Remark: Graphs are based on data presented in Ref. [42]

Fig. 6

Reproduced with permission from Ref. [47]—published by The Royal Society of Chemistry

Fig. 7

Reprinted from Ref. [77] with permission of the Electrochemical Society

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) grants STR 596/4-1 (“Pt stability”) and STR 596/5-1 (“Shaped Pt bimetallics”). The authors acknowledges financial support by the Federal Ministry of Education and Science via the joint project “LoPlaKats” (Grant 03SF0527A).

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  1. The Electrochemical Catalysis, Energy and Materials Science Laboratory, Chemical Engineering Division, Department of Chemistry, Technical University Berlin, 10623, Berlin, Germany

    Stefanie Kühl & Peter Strasser

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  1. Stefanie Kühl
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  2. Peter Strasser
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Correspondence to Peter Strasser.

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Kühl, S., Strasser, P. Oxygen Electrocatalysis on Dealloyed Pt Nanocatalysts. Top Catal 59, 1628–1637 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11244-016-0682-z

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