Particle-size effect of nanoscale platinum catalysts in oxygen reduction reaction: an electrochemical and 195Pt EC-NMR study

Abstract

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) measurements and ¹⁹⁵Pt electrochemical nuclear magnetic resonance (EC-NMR) spectroscopy were combined to study a series of carbon-supported platinum nanoparticle electrocatalysts (Pt/CB) with average diameters in the range of roughly 1–5 nm. ORR rate constants and H₂O₂ yields evaluated from hydrodynamic voltammograms did not show any particle size dependency. The apparent activation energy of 37 kJ mol⁻¹, obtained for the ORR rate constant, was identical to that obtained for bulk platinum electrodes. Pt/CB catalysts on Nafion produced only 0.7–1% of H₂O₂, confirming that the direct four-electron reduction of O₂ to H₂O is the predominant reaction. NMR spectral features showed characteristic size dependence, and the line shapes were reproduced by using the layer-deconvolution model. Namely, the variations in the NMR spectra with particle size can be explained as due to the combined effect of the layer-by-layer variation of the s-type and d-type local density of states. However, the surface peak position of ¹⁹⁵Pt NMR spectra and the spin–lattice relaxation time of surface platinum atoms showed practically no change with the particle size variation. We conclude that there is a negligible difference in the surface electronic properties of these Pt/CB catalysts due to size variations and therefore, the ORR activities are not affected by the differences in the particle size.