Mass-selected nanoparticles of PtxY as model catalysts for oxygen electroreduction.

Low-temperature fuel cells are limited by the oxygen reduction reaction, and their widespread implementation in automotive vehicles is hindered by the cost of platinum, currently the best-known catalyst for reducing oxygen in terms of both activity and stability. One solution is to decrease the amount of platinum required, for example by alloying, but without detrimentally affecting its properties. The alloy PtxY is known to be active and stable, but its synthesis in nanoparticulate form has proved challenging, which limits its further study.

Exploring the phase space of time of flight mass selected Pt(x)Y nanoparticles.

Mass-selected nanoparticles can be conveniently produced using magnetron sputtering and aggregation techniques. However, numerous pitfalls can compromise the quality of the samples, e.g.