COLL 606 |
| The working mechanism of electrocatalysts are quiet different from the normal catalysts, since electrons are donated or accepted by the metal in the catalytic reaction, with the electrode potential involved. Most electrocatalysts work in an aqueous environment where the polarized water molecules and mobile ions strongly affect the reaction pathway, which finally result in a self-consistent double-layer structure on the electrocatalyst surface. With the help of density functional theory (DFT) calculations, a model is constructed to describe the process of dynamical equilibrium on PEM fuel-cell cathode surface. In this model, the formation of the double layer structure by solvent, reactants and intermediates on Pt surface occurs in a self-consistent manner, which will be helpful for understanding the activity of different electrocatalysts. Also, in most cases electrocatalysts should have good stability in highly acidic environments, so the anti-corrosion capability of different electrocatalysts is analyzed by first-principles calculation and ion-solvent interaction models. |
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Physical and Computational Characterization of Nanostructured Electrocatalysts
2:00 PM-4:20 PM, Thursday, 14 September 2006 Sir Francis Drake -- Empire Room, Oral
Division of Colloid & Surface Chemistry |