title: Transition Metal Nitride Coated with Atomic Layers of Pt as a Low-Cost, Highly Stable Electrocatalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction.
abstract: The main challenges to the commercial viability of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are (i) the high cost associated with using large amounts of Pt in fuel cell cathodes to compensate for the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction, (ii) catalyst degradation, and (iii) carbon-support corrosion. To address these obstacles, our group has focused on robust, carbon-free transition metal nitride materials with low Pt content that exhibit tunable physical and catalytic properties. Here, we report on the high performance of a novel catalyst with low Pt content, prepared by placing several layers of Pt atoms on nanoparticles of titanium nickel binary nitride. For the ORR, the catalyst exhibited a more than 400% and 200% increase in mass activity and specific activity, respectively, compared with the commercial Pt/C catalyst. It also showed excellent stability/durability, experiencing only a slight performance loss after 10,000 potential cycles, while TEM results showed its structure had remained intact. The catalyst's outstanding performance may have resulted from the ultrahigh dispersion of Pt (several atomic layers coated on the nitride nanoparticles), and the excellent stability/durability may have been due to the good stability of nitride and synergetic effects between ultrathin Pt layer and the robust TiNiN support.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology of Guangdong Province & the Key Laboratory of New Energy Technology of Guangdong Universities, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510641, China.
authors.forename: Xinlong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology of Guangdong Province & the Key Laboratory of New Energy Technology of Guangdong Universities, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510641, China.
authors.forename: Junming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology of Guangdong Province & the Key Laboratory of New Energy Technology of Guangdong Universities, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510641, China.
authors.forename: Haoxiong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nan
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology of Guangdong Province & the Key Laboratory of New Energy Technology of Guangdong Universities, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510641, China.
authors.forename: Haobin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology of Guangdong Province & the Key Laboratory of New Energy Technology of Guangdong Universities, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510641, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology of Guangdong Province & the Key Laboratory of New Energy Technology of Guangdong Universities, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510641, China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.forename: Xiuhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology of Guangdong Province & the Key Laboratory of New Energy Technology of Guangdong Universities, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510641, China.
authors.forename: Yingwei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Huiyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology of Guangdong Province & the Key Laboratory of New Energy Technology of Guangdong Universities, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510641, China.
authors.forename: Shijun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Chemistry Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory , Upton, New York 11973, United States.
authors.forename: Radoslav R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Adzic