A Novel and Robust Method to Yield Stable, Highly Active and Mass-Producible Pt3Ni Catalysts

 Background: 

 Pt-based nanoframes are a new class of nanomaterials that have great potential as high performance catalysts. However, their formation through acid etching demands long reaction time and often yields ill-defined surface structures.

 Technology Overview: 

 The present technology provides a method for facile development of high-performance nanoframe catalysts using PtNi4 tetrahexahedral (THH) nanocrystals as precursors. The resultant Pt3Ni THH nanoframes possess an open, stable and high-indexed microstructure, which greatly improves catalytic performance in an acidic reaction environment. These nanoframes show high activity in catalyzing several fuel cell reactions, including formic acid oxidation, methanol oxidation, and oxygen reduction reaction. The nanoframes are stable, and remain intact even after 5000 electrochemical potential cycles in 0.1 M HClO4 solution without shape and composition degradation.

 Advantages: 

• Mass-Producible: Nanoframes using gas phase reactions that feature fast, stable and large-scale production.
• Improved Catalytic Activity: Resultant Pt3Ni THH nanoframes have better defined surface structure that improves catalytic activity in several fuel cell reactions for many cycles without losing their shape and composition.
• Quick: Formation of nanoframes takes only 45 minutes, as opposed to 12 or 24 hours in the acid etching approach.
• Versatile: Developed process can be adopted for other systems, such as Pt-Fe, Au-Fe, Pd-Ni systems, to engineer catalysts with novel hollow structures.

   Intellectual Property Summary: 

  • U.S. 10,454,114
  • U.S. 16/659,314
    Technology rights available for licensing.