Electrocatalytic and adsorption properties of platinum microparticles electrodeposited onto glassy carbon and into Nafion® films

A comparative investigation of electrocatalytic and adsorption properties of platinum microparticles electrodeposited onto a glassy carbon surface (Pt/GC) and within a thin Nafion® film formed on a GC electrode (Pt/Nf/GC) is described. As test reaction the methanol oxidation in sulfuric acid solutions is used. Dependences of the steady-state specific reaction rates upon potential and methanol concentration were established, as well as those of the platinum surface coverage with methanol chemisorption products upon concentration. It was shown that at higher platinum loadings (above 60 μg cm⁻²) the specific activities of Pt/GC and Pt/Nf/GC are nearly the same and close to that of smooth platinum. At such loadings the surface coverage of the platinum deposit surface with organic particles does not differ from that of smooth platinum. At very low platinum loadings in the polymeric matrix (10–30 μg cm⁻²) a considerable decrease in the adsorption of strongly chemisorbed methanol particles is observed. These deposits are characterized by a low specific activity, which may be caused by the decrease of the platinum particle’s size, leading to a decrease in the amount of weakly bound methanol particles participating in the limiting reaction step.     

Metal segregation in bimetallic clusters and its possible role in synergism and bifunctional catalysis

Aspects of the reactivity of segregated bimetallic compounds and their unusual catalytic properties are reviewed with an emphasis on the author's own studies of platinum—ruthenium mixed-metal cluster complexes and their ability to produce hydrogenation and hydrosilylation of alkynes, catalytically.     

载体预处理对贵金属铂系催化剂性质的影响

载体在４个预定温度下进行了预处理，用湿式浸渍法制备了氧化铝担载铂系催化剂，应用ＴＰＲ，Ｈ２－ＴＰＤ，ＸＲＤ等方法对制备的催化剂进行了表明随着预处理温度的升高（室温～８５０Ｃ），贵金属铂系催化剂分散度提高，活性中心数目增加。     

Enhancement of the electrocatalytic O2 reduction on Pt–Fe alloys

The design of high performance cathode electrocatalysts is essential for polymer–electrolyte fuel cells, which are now attracting enormous interest as a primary power source for zero-emission electric vehicles. We have discovered a significant enhancement of electrocatalytic activity of Pt by alloying with Fe, and found a maximum activity at ca. 50% Fe content, which results in 25 times higher activity than pure Pt activity. It was confirmed experimentally at Pt–Fe bulk alloys that the alloy catalyst surface consists of a pure Pt skin-layer (<1 nm in thickness) that is modified in the electronic structure by that of the bulk alloy. The enhancement could be well explained by the 5d-vacancy of the surface, but not by Pt interatomic distance or roughening of the surfaces.     

Synthesis of 2-methylidene-1-silacyclohexanes by intramolecular hydrosilylation

The preparation of various (hex-5-ynyl)silanes was achieved following two different synthetic approaches from readily available materials such as 4-bromobutene, 6-iodohexyne and chlorosilanes. Different reaction conditions for intramolecular hydrosilylation were tested to prepare the corresponding 2-methylidene-1-silacyclohexanes. Notably, the use of Speier’s catalyst allowed the regioselective formation of the desired products in moderate yields.     

Metal deposition onto thiol-covered gold: Platinum on a 4-mercaptopyridine SAM

In this study we describe details of a new technique that allows to deposit metal on top of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM). Monoatomic high platinum islands were formed on a 4-mercaptopyridine SAM on Au(1 1 1) by first immersing the SAM-covered gold electrode in an aqueous solution of K₂PtCl₄ without potential control to allow Pt(II) ions to form a complex with the pyridine nitrogen. The complexed Pt(II) ions were then reduced electrochemically to Pt(0) after transferring the electrode to a Pt(II) ion-free solution. Upon reduction, monoatomic high Pt islands were observed in STM, the total coverage depending on the time for complexation. Ex situ angle-resolved XPS studies reveal that the Pt islands indeed reside on top of the SAM.     

DFT study of Pt adsorption on low index SrTiO3 surfaces: SrTiO3(1 0 0), SrTiO3(1 1 1) and SrTiO3(1 1 0)

Density Functional Theory has been used to determine the energetically preferred structures of submonolayer, monolayer, and multilayer Pt films on both ideal terminations of SrTiO₃(1 0 0), SrTiO₃(1 1 1), and SrTiO₃(1 1 0). The strength of the resulting metal/metal oxide interfaces was characterized by the adsorption energy of the film and the film’s work of separation. The two polar surfaces, SrTiO₃(1 1 1) and SrTiO₃(1 1 0), form significantly stronger interfaces than the non-polar SrTiO₃(1 0 0) surface. Approximate criteria were applied to predict the growth mode of Pt on each surface.     

Evidence for diffusional coupling in electrochemical thin layers: implications for surface coverage calibration via electrochemical infrared spectroscopy

The time dependence of the concentration of CO₂ in an electrochemical thin layer cavity is studied with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in order to evaluate the extent to which the thin layer cavity is diffusionally decoupled from the surrounding bulk electrolyte. For the model system of CO on Pt(111) in 0.1 M HClO₄, it is found that the concentration of CO₂, formed by electro-oxidation of CO, equilibrates rapidly with the surrounding bulk electrolyte. This rapid equilibration indicates that there is diffusion out of the thin layer, even on the short time scales of typical infrared experiments (1–3 min). However, since the measured CO₂ absorbance intensity as a function of time is reproducible to within 10%, a new time-dependent method for surface coverage calibration using solution-phase species is proposed. Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Teresa Iwasita on the occasion of her 65th birthday in recognition of her numerous contributions to interfacial electrochemistry.     

Certification of the mass fractions of Pt, Pd and Rh in a used car catalyst reference material

The high economic value of catalysts containing the platinum group elements platinum, rhodium and palladium as active components causes the need to be able to measure the precious metal loading with small uncertainty and to have suitable certified reference materials fulfilling high demands on the quality of the certified values. In European Reference Material ERM^®-EB504, a used cordierite-based car catalyst material, mass fractions of platinum, palladium and rhodium were certified. The raw material was milled, homogenised and annealed before analysis. Seventeen laboratories experienced in precious metals analysis participated in the certification interlaboratory comparison, most of them analysing with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry using different sample pretreatment techniques. Homogeneity testing was carried out using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The certified mass fractions of Pt, Pd and Rh and their expanded uncertainties (k = 2) in ERM^®-EB504 are (1777 ± 15), (279 ± 6) and (338 ± 4) mg/kg respectively.     

Competitive Intramolecular Aryl‐ and Alkyl‐C?H Bond Activation and Ligand Evaporation from Gaseous Bisimino Complexes [Pt(L)(CH3)((CH3)2S)]+ (L=C6H5NC(CH3)?C(CH3)NC6H5)

Mechanistic details for the formation of methane from the title compound as well as the combined elimination of (CH₃)₂S/CH₄ are derived from various mass‐spectrometric experiments including deuterium‐labeling studies and DFT calculations. For the first process, i.e., methane formation, we have identified three competing pathways in which the intact, Pt‐bonded methyl group combines with a H‐atom that originates from a phenyl substituent (ca. 7%), the dimethyl sulfide ligand (ca. 41%), and a methyl group of the diazabutadiene backbone (ca. 52%). In contrast, in the combined (CH₃)₂S/CH₄ elimination, the methane is specifically formed from the Pt‐bound CH₃ group and a H‐atom provided by one of the phenyl groups (‘cyclometalation’).