Gold Electrocatalysts for Alkaline Media

小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段 项目是在分析和表面的一般领域 化学和电化学的子领域， 材料化学 本活动的目标是 开发高度分散、小颗粒、有支撑的目标物 用于在碱性介质中还原分子氧的电催化剂 媒体 在之前的第一阶段研究中， 根据NSF授予ISI-8660688，Physical Sciences，Inc. 证明了直接电还原分子氧， 水在球门100面增强。 公司 进一步证明，小颗粒金催化剂可以 在碳载体上制造，并且使用这些 电催化剂引起减少的形成， 不希望的过氧化氢电还原产物。 在目前的第二阶段活动中，先前的第一阶段 工作范围正在扩大。 研究任务 目前的努力包括（1）高度准备 分散负载型金电催化剂及其研究进展 用于碱性介质中的耐腐蚀支撑材料 介质;（2）通过调整金微晶结构， 改变颗粒尺寸和制造条件， 产生（100）优先取向的金颗粒;（3） 金的微晶结构测定 使用扩展X射线吸收精细结构的颗粒 （EXAFS）光谱在真空和原位在一个实际的 操作燃料电池;和（4）电极的测量 半电池配置中的性能， 操作条件。 新的电催化剂来源于 这项研究可能具有广泛的、技术上的重要性， 应用.

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is in the general area of analytical and surface chemistry and in the subfields of electrochemistry and materials chemistry. The goal of this activity is the development of highly dispersed, small particle, supported goal electrocatalysts for the reduction of dioxygen in alkaline media. In the preceding Phase I research which was supported under NSF grant ISI-8660688, Physical Sciences, Inc. demonstrated that the direct electroreduction of dioxygen to water was enhanced on the 100 surface of goal. The company further demonstrated that small-particle gold catalysts could be fabricated on carbon supports, and that the use of these electrocatalysts gave rise to diminished formation of the undesired hydrogen peroxide electroreduction product. In the present Phase II activity, the previous Phase I work is being extended and broadened in scope. Research tasks for the current effort include (1) preparation of highly dispersed supported gold electrocatalysts and development of corrosion resistant support materials for use in alkaline media; (2) tailoring of the gold crystallite structure through variation of both particle size and fabrication conditions to produce (100) preferentially oriented gold particles; (3) determination of the crystallite structure of the gold particles using extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy both in vacuo and in situ in an actual operating fuel cell; and (4) measurement of electrode performance in a half-cell configuration under realistic operating conditions. The new electrocatalysts derived from this research could have broad, technologically important applications.