Pt3Co Nanowires for Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysis

Copyright Chemistry Views

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) transforms molecular oxygen into H2O. The hydrogen atoms necessary for the reaction can be provided using molecular hydrogen or by electrochemical means, with an electrode providing electrons and an acidic aqueous phase providing protons. The ORR is an important reaction linked to the use of green hydrogen as a fuel for the production of electricity and heat in modern fuel cells. Platinum is generally used as a heterogeneous catalyst for this reaction, despite its high costs and scarcity. Replacing platinum with alloys or other materials would be useful. A Pt3Co alloy, for example, has shown excellent ORR activity.

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Article entitled “Magnetism at the root of enhanced ‘green’ catalysis” published in Alpha Galileo and re-published in Phys.org

Graphical abstract. Credit: DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.1c03135

The research group at MagnetoCat SL (Alicante, Spain) published a fundamental theoretical work on magnetism in heterogeneous catalysis in ACS Catalysis.

The group, composed of PhD student Miss Chiara Biz, Dr Mauro Fianchini and Dr Jose Gracia, laid out a complex and comprehensive theoretical treatment linking electronic spin, magnetism and heterogeneous catalysis. This treatment concerns the behaviour of correlated electrons in solids and the quantum mechanical "tricks" they implement to avoid each other while balancing repulsions and attractions.

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