Surface scientific approaches to clarify the interaction between metal catalysts and carbon supports

石墨烯负载的Pt团簇的尺寸被成功地控制在亚纳米和4 nm之间。Pt亚纳米团簇对CO的电氧化具有很高的催化活性，随着Pt粒径的增大，催化活性降低。与体铂相比，亚纳米尺度的铂团簇的电子结构发生了显著的改变。也就是说，碳载体效应对于Pt/石墨烯催化剂是显著的。氮掺杂到石墨烯中进一步改变了Pt簇的电子结构和催化性能。该研究项目的结果意味着石墨烯负载的Pt催化剂可以应用于燃料电池。

The size of Pt clusters supported on graphene was successfully controlled between sub-nanometers and 4 nm. The Pt subnano-clusters show high catalytic activities for electro-oxidation of CO. The activities decrease with increasing particle size of Pt. The electronic structure of Pt clusters with subnano-meters is significantly modified compared to that of bulk Pt. That is, the carbon support effect is significant for Pt/graphene catalysts. Nitrogen-doping into graphene further modified the electronic structure and the catalytic properties of Pt clusters. The results in the research project mean that graphene-supported Pt catalysts can be applied to fuel cells.