Školitel: Doc. Mgr. Ivan Khalakhan, Ph.D.
Stav práce: volná
Anotace:
Developing next-generation electrocatalysts is essential for achieving efficient and sustainable electrochemical energy conversion, particularly in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Although bi- and trimetallic Pt-based alloys have emerged as promising candidates that can outperform pure platinum catalysts in terms of activity, further improvements in both activity and especially long-term stability are still required.
This thesis focuses on a novel class of multi-element materials known as high-entropy alloys (HEAs) for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). HEAs contain five or more principal elements, offering unique surface properties that are unattainable in traditional bimetallic or trimetallic systems. While HEAs have already been successfully applied in industry, their development for electrocatalysis remains in its very early stages, and many fundamental questions regarding their structure-activity-stability relationships are still unanswered.
The aim of this work is to prepare Pt-based HEAs using the magnetron co-sputtering technique and to systematically investigate them using a comprehensive experimental approach, ranging from conventional ex situ to advance in situ/operando characterization techniques, in order to elucidate the relationships between composition, activity and stability, ultimately contributing to the rational design of more active and durable electrocatalysts for PEMFC applications.
Literatura:
[1] Handbook of Fuel Cells: Fundamentals, Technology, Applications. Ed.: E. W. Vielstich, A. Lamm, H.A. Gasteiger. Wiley (2003) ISBN: 978-0-471-49926-8
[2] J.T. Ren, et al. High-entropy alloys in electrocatalysis: from fundamentals to applications. Chem. Soc. Rev., 2023, 52(23), 8319-8373.
[3] M. Li, et al. High-entropy alloy electrocatalysts go to (sub-) nanoscale. Sci. Adv., 2024, 10(23), eadn2877