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39729-AC10
Molecular Magnetics on the Nanoscale: Fundamental Implications on Fuel Cell Electrochemistry

Shaowei Chen, University of California (Santa Cruz)

In this grant period, we carried out further studies to examine the electrocatalytic activities of Pt-based binary alloy particles in fuel cell reastions. Specifically, we investigated the catalytic activities of PtFe alloy particles in formic acid electro-oxidation. By using the Langmuir-Blodgett tectnique, we examined the effect of particle loading on the catalytic activities, and observed that a minimal thickness was needed to optimize the performance; and the ordering of the nanocalysts was also important in improving the activities as compared to disordered dropcast thick films. In addition, the particle elemental composition was found to be another critical parameter in the manipulation of the catalytic activities. The optimal composition was found to correspond roughly to a 1:1 ratio between the Pt and Fe elements in the particles, where the tolerance to CO poisoning and anodic current density were maximized.

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