(332e) Atomically-Thin Noble Metal Coatings on Early Transition Metal Carbide Nanoparticles:  a Versatile Catalytic Platform for Electro- and Thermocatalysis

In an increasingly carbon-constrained world, lignocellulosic biomass, natural gas, water, and carbon dioxide have emerged as attractive options to supply energy, fuels, and chemicals at scale in a cleaner and more sustainable manner. However, the unique chemical makeup of these alternative energy sources has created daunting conversion challenges, requiring the development a new generation of robust, active, and selective catalysts.

Here, new developments in the use of heterometallic early transition metal carbide (TMC) nanoparticles will be described as a novel platform to replace (or at least drastically reduce) noble metal utilization in electro- and thermo-catalytic applications. A new method to synthesize TMCs and core-shell TMC-noble metal structures with exquisite control over composition, size, crystal phase, and purity will be demonstrated. We will show how advanced synthesis techniques can be coupled with rigorous reactivity and characterization studies to uncover unique synergies in nanostructured catalysts. Specifically, we will show that Pt and PtRu monolayers supported on bimetallic titanium tungsten carbide (TiWC) cores are highly CO-tolerant electrocatalysts for hydrogen oxidation and that they achieve an order of magnitude increase in methanol electrooxidation activity over commercial catalysts even after 10,000 cycles with superb resistance to sintering. Collectively, these core-shell catalysts present a novel platform to drastically enhance utilization of noble metals while substantially enhancing their reactivity and stability