Atomic-resolution spectroscopic imaging of ensembles of nanocatalyst particles across the life of a fuel cell

Huolin L Xin; Julia A Mundy; Zhongyi Liu; Randi Cabezas; Robert Hovden; Lena Fitting Kourkoutis; Junliang Zhang; Nalini P Subramanian; Rohit Makharia; Frederick T Wagner; David A Muller

doi:10.1021/nl203975u

Atomic-resolution spectroscopic imaging of ensembles of nanocatalyst particles across the life of a fuel cell

Nano Lett. 2012 Jan 11;12(1):490-7. doi: 10.1021/nl203975u. Epub 2011 Dec 7.

Authors

Huolin L Xin¹, Julia A Mundy, Zhongyi Liu, Randi Cabezas, Robert Hovden, Lena Fitting Kourkoutis, Junliang Zhang, Nalini P Subramanian, Rohit Makharia, Frederick T Wagner, David A Muller

Affiliation

¹ Department of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.

PMID: 22122715
DOI: 10.1021/nl203975u

Abstract

The thousand-fold increase in data-collection speed enabled by aberration-corrected optics allows us to overcome an electron microscopy paradox: how to obtain atomic-resolution chemical structure in individual nanoparticles yet record a statistically significant sample from an inhomogeneous population. This allowed us to map hundreds of Pt-Co nanoparticles to show atomic-scale elemental distributions across different stages of the catalyst aging in a proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell, and relate Pt-shell thickness to treatment, particle size, surface orientation, and ordering.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Bioelectric Energy Sources*
Catalysis
Image Enhancement / methods*
Materials Testing / methods*
Microscopy, Atomic Force / methods*
Nanostructures / chemistry*
Nanostructures / ultrastructure*
Spectrum Analysis / methods*