Theory and Experiment in Electrocatalysis

Perla B. Balbuena, Venkat R. Subramanian

• 02 november 2010
• 9781441955937

Samenvatting:

Highlights advances in both theoretical and experimental techniques and points out both the progress made and the challenges to overcome in the near future. This title includes topics that cover a spectrum going from surface characterization, investigation of thermodynamics and kinetics mechanistic pathways, and more.

Topics in Number 50 include:

• Investigation of alloy cathode Electrocatalysts

• A model Hamiltonian that incorporates the solvent effect to gas-phase density functional theory (DFT) calculations

• DFT-based theoretical analysis of ORR mechanisms

• Structure of the polymer electrolyte membranes (PEM)

• ORR investigated through a DFT-Green function analysis of small clusters

• Electrocatalytic oxidation and hydrogenation of chemisorbed aromatic compounds on palladium

Electrodes

• New models that connect the continuum descriptions with atomistic Monte Carlo simulations

• ORR reaction in acid revisited through DFT studies that address the complexity of Pt-based alloys in electrocatalytic processes

• Use of surface science methods and electrochemical techniques to elucidate reaction mechanisms in electrocatalytic processes

• In-situ synchrotron spectroscopy to analyze electrocatalysts dispersed on nanomaterials

From reviews of previous volumes:

“Continues the valuable service that has been rendered by the Modern Aspects series.” —Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry

“Extremely well-referenced and very readable.... Maintains the overall high standards of the series.” —Journal of the American Chemical Society

Electrocatalysts are the heart of power devices where electricity is produced via conversion of chemical into electrical energy. - pressive advances in surface science techniques and in first pr- ciples computational design are providing new avenues for signi- cant improvement of the overall efficiencies of such power dev- es, especially because of an increase in the understanding of el- trocatalytic materials and processes. For example, the devel- ment of high resolution instrumentation including various electron and ion-scattering and in-situ synchrotron spectroscopies, elect- chemical scanning tunneling microscopy, and a plethora of new developments in analytical chemistry and electrochemical te- niques, permits the detailed characterization of atomic distribution, before, during, and after a reaction takes place, giving unpre- dented information about the status of the catalyst during the re- tion, and most importantly the time evolution of the exposed ca- lytic surfaces at the atomistic level. These techniques are c- plemented by the use of ab initio methods which do not require input from experimental information, and are based on numerical solutions of the time-independent Schrodinger equation including electron-electron and electron-atom interactions. These fir- principles computational methods have reached a degree of - turity such that their use to provide guidelines for interpretation of experiments and for materials design has become a routine practice in academic and industrial communities.