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Influence of Structural, Microstructural and Electrical Properties on Electrocatalytic Performance at the Nanoscale

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Abstract

In the field of electrocatalysis, significant work has been done over the past few decades on the effect of particle size on electrocatalytic performance. It has been shown in literature that as catalyst particle diameter has decreased into the nanometre scale, four different trends with respect to particle size on electrocatalytic activity have been observed. These four different trends can be classified as either structure sensitive or structure insensitive and are represented by either no change in electrocatalytic activity with respect to particle size, an increase in activity with a decrease in particle size, a decrease in activity with a decrease in particle size or an increase in activity until the catalyst reaches an optimal performance, followed by a decrease in activity with further decreasing of the catalyst size. These changes in electrocatalytic activity have been observed mainly in the mitohedrical region, which is the transition region between atomistic material properties and bulk material properties. To account for these different trends that exist between particle size and electrocatalytic activity, many different theories have been proposed. The purpose of this paper is to highlight and explain these different theories for the reader and to provide a clearer understanding of the current knowledge base with respect to nanoparticle catalysts. In particular, this paper looks at the effects of electronic structure, support structure, particle geometry and microstructure on electrocatalytic performance.

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  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, 184 College Street, Rm. 140, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 3E4

    Ryan J. Gilliam & Steven J. Thorpe

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Rm. 246, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 3E5

    Donald W. Kirk

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Gilliam, R.J., Kirk, D.W. & Thorpe, S.J. Influence of Structural, Microstructural and Electrical Properties on Electrocatalytic Performance at the Nanoscale. Electrocatal 2, 1–19 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12678-011-0038-1

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