(499b) Advanced Electrocatalysts From Organic Solution Synthesis

Alloy nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted increasing interest due to their superior performance in various catalytic applications.  For example, Pt alloys with transition metals (PtM with M = Fe, Co, Ni, etc.) have been found to be highly active for the oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells.  A lot of efforts have been dedicated to the synthesis of alloy catalysts, which are usually in the form of alloy NPs dispersed in high surface area carbon matrix.  The approaches mostly include co-precipitation of metal salts in aqueous solution, impregnation, and electrodeposition.  In spite of the successful preparation of various types of alloy catalysts, it yet remains challenging to synthesize monodisperse and homogeneous alloy catalysts with robust control over size and composition.  Here we introduce our organic solvothermal approach towards high-quality alloy nanomaterials for electrocatalytic applications.  Control over particle size, alloy composition and alloy homogeneity has been achieved by matching the different reduction and growth rates of the alloying elements, which has enabled systematic studies of the effects of these parameters on electrocatalysis.  Our studies thus provide clues for the design and optimization of alloy nanomaterials for catalytic applications.