CPLACES: Clusters of platinum and its alloys for fuel cell applications

化石燃料的枯竭和日益加剧的环境担忧需要高效、无污染的能源技术。关键是开发高效的电催化装置，例如燃料电池，它可以直接将化学能转化为直流电，而不需要燃烧石油或汽油等肮脏的燃料。然而，电化学系统的实际能量和功率密度以及催化组件的成本，即用于燃料电池的铂，限制了它们相对于传统技术的竞争力。这些电化学反应的热力学和动力学是由电极材料的尺寸、几何结构和化学成分驱动的。我们越来越有能力在纳米尺度上操纵物质，完全控制化学成分，这为设计具有所需催化性能的材料提供了新的和独特的机会。该项目将使用计算方法讨论如何定制电子、表面和晶体结构，以设计和表征更好的用于燃料电池应用的纳米合金电催化剂。

The depletion of fossil fuels and increasing environmental concerns demand efficient, pollution-free energy technologies. The key point is to develop highly efficient electrocatalytic devices, for example fuel cells, which directly convert chemical energy to direct-current electrical energy, without burning dirty fuels, such as oil or gasoline. However, practical energy and power densities and the cost of catalytic components of the electrochemical systems, i.e. platinum for fuel cell applications, limit their competitiveness relative to conventional technologies. The thermodynamics and kinetics of these electrochemical reactions are driven by the size, the geometrical structure and the chemical composition of the electrode material. Our growing ability to manipulate matter at a nanoscale regime, with complete control of the chemical composition, provides a new and unique opportunity to design materials with the desired catalytic properties. This project will discuss, using a computational approach, how the electronic, surface and crystal structures can be tailored to design and characterise better nanoalloy electrocatalysts for fuel cell applications.