Gaining insight into the impact of electronic property and interface electrostatic field on ORR kinetics in alloy engineering via theoretical prognostication and experimental validation.

Alloy engineering has been utilized as a potent strategy to modulate the oxygen reduction reaction （ORR） activity. However, the regulatory mechanism underpinning the ORR kinetics by means of alloy engineering is still shrouded in ambiguity. This work places emphasis on the kinetics of the ORR concerning PtM (M = Cr, Co, Cu, Pd, Sn, and Ir) catalysts, and integrates theoretical prognostication and experimental validation to illuminate the fundamental principles of alloy engineering.

Micromodification of the Catalyst Layer by CO to Increase Pt Utilization for Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells.

Improving the utilization of platinum in proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells is critical to reducing their cost. In the past decade, numerous Pt-based oxygen reduction reaction catalysts with high specific and mass activities have been developed. However, the high activities are mostly achieved in rotating disk electrode (RDE) measurement and have rarely been accomplished at the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) level.

Elucidating the Correlation between ORR Polarization Curves and Kinetics at Metal-Electrolyte Interfaces.

The metal-vacuum models used to analyze the thermodynamics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) completely overlook the role of electrolytes in the electrochemical process and thus cannot reflect the actual kinetic process occurring at the metal-electrolyte interface. Therefore, based on the real experimental process, the current work elucidates the chemical interactions between the electrolyte and the chemical species for the ORR via a novel metal-electrolyte model for the first time by effectively elucidating the correlation between ORR kinetics and polarization curves. Our simulation model analysis comprises the study of all possible ORR mechanisms on different Pt surfaces (Pt(111), Pt(110), and Pt(100)) and PtNi alloys with different compositions (PtNi(111), PtNi(111), and PtNi(111)).