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Apparatus and method for the synthesis and treatment of metal monolayer electrocatalyst particles in batch or continuous fashion

Inactive Publication Date: 2013-03-07
BROOKHAVEN SCI ASSOCS
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  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

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Benefits of technology

The present invention is about creating an apparatus and process that can deposit ultrathin films on a large number of three-dimensional particles with atomic-level control over the film thickness and uniformity. This method can produce films of various thicknesses and can be used for commercial applications, especially in the production of electrocatalyst nanoparticles for energy conversion devices. The apparatus uses a rotating cylinder slurry cell and can deposition up to one monolayer of film on the particles' surface. Excess ions are removed and replaced with more noble ions to facilitate deposition of a more noble metal. This method allows for the production of highly uniform electrocatalyst nanoparticles with controlled film thickness.

Problems solved by technology

Although noble metals have been shown to be some of the best electrocatalysts, their successful implementation in commercially available energy conversion devices is hindered by their high cost in combination with other factors such as a susceptibility to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, poor stability under cyclic loading, and the relatively slow kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).

Method used

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  • Apparatus and method for the synthesis and treatment of metal monolayer electrocatalyst particles in batch or continuous fashion
  • Apparatus and method for the synthesis and treatment of metal monolayer electrocatalyst particles in batch or continuous fashion
  • Apparatus and method for the synthesis and treatment of metal monolayer electrocatalyst particles in batch or continuous fashion

Examples

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example 1

[0067]The present invention may be illustrated by way of exemplary embodiments. In this example, the deposition process will be described with reference to deposition onto non-noble metal-noble metal core-shell nanoparticles. The core-shell nanoparticles may be initially formed using any method known in the art including, for example, those disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 709,910. The deposition process in Example 1 will now be described using FIGS. 2 and 3 as a reference. The nanoparticle surface in FIG. 2 shows a portion of the non-noble metal core (1) along with the noble metal shell (2). Non-noble metal ions (4) are initially adsorbed on the surface by immersing the nanoparticles in a cell (10) comprising the appropriate concentration of non-noble metal ions (4) in step S1. The non-noble metal ions (4) are contained in solution within the slurry (14) illustrated in FIG. 1. Typical non-noble metal ions that may be used for UPD of an initial adlayer include, but a...

example 2

[0072]A second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4 which shows the overall process flow for film growth by UPD and galvanic displacement using a rotating cylinder slurry cell. Initially, in step S10, particles of the desired composition, size, and shape are formed. Such particles may also be purchased from commercial vendors, such as E-TEK (39 Veronica Av., Somerset, N.J., 08873) and BASF (Germany). The particles used may be of any type onto which atomic layers of the desired material may be deposited. In a preferred embodiment the particles are of the type described in Section I above. Prior to deposition of an initial adlayer by UPD, it is necessary to prepare a slurry comprising the particles and ions of the desired UPD element as shown in step S11. The UPD element must be a material which exhibits underpotential deposition such as, for example, any of Cu, Pb, Bi, Sn, Ce, Ag, Sb, and Tl.

[0073]In step S12 the elect...

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Abstract

An apparatus and method for the synthesis and treatment of electrocatalyst particles in batch or continuous fashion is provided. In one embodiment, the apparatus is comprised of a three-electrode cell which includes a reference electrode, a counter electrode, and a working electrode. The working electrode is preferably a cylindrical vessel having an electrically conductive region. The electrode assembly is introduced into a slurry containing metal ions and a plurality of particles. During operation an electrical potential is applied and the working electrode is rotated at a predetermined speed. When particles in the slurry collide with the electrically conductive region the transferred charge facilitates deposition of an ad-layer of the desired metal. In this manner film growth can commence on a large number of particles simultaneously. This process is especially suitable as a commercial thin film deposition process for forming catalytically active layers on nanoparticles for use in energy conversion devices.

Description

[0001]This application is an International PCT application, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 316,874, filed on Mar. 24, 2010 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.[0002]This invention was made with Government support under contract number DE-AC02-98CH10886, awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Government has certain rights in the invention.BACKGROUND[0003]I. FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0004]This invention relates generally to the controlled deposition of ultrathin films. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for depositing atomic submonolayer to multilayer thin films on a plurality of particles in batch or continuous fashion. The present invention also relates to nanoparticle electrocatalysts having ultrathin catalytically active layers formed using the disclosed apparatus and method.[0005]II. BACKGROUND OF THE RELATED ART[0006]Metals such as platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), ruthenium (Ru), and re...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): C25D7/00C25D5/04C25D17/16
CPCC25D17/12C25D21/12C25D21/10C25D5/08C25D15/00C23C18/54C25D7/006Y02E60/50C25D17/10H01M4/8853
Inventor ADZIC, RADOSLAVVUKMIROVIC, MIOMIR
Owner BROOKHAVEN SCI ASSOCS
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