Compositionally complex materials such as high-entropy alloys and oxides have the potential to be... more Compositionally complex materials such as high-entropy alloys and oxides have the potential to be efficient platforms for catalyst discovery because of the vast chemical space spanned by these novel materials. Identifying the composition of the most active catalyst materials, however, requires unraveling the descriptor-activity relationship, as experimental screening the multitude of possible element ratios quickly becomes a daunting task. In this work, we show that inferred adsorption energy distributions of *OH and *O on complex solid solution surfaces within the space spanned by the system Ag-Pd-Pt-Ru are coupled to the experimentally observed electrocatalytic performance for the oxygen reduction reaction. In total, the catalytic activity of 1582 alloy compositions is predicted with a cross-validated mean absolute error of 0.042 mA/cm2 by applying a theory-derived model with only two adjustable parameters. Trends in the discrepancies between predicted electrochemical performance ...
The catalytic activity of Pt and Pt3Ni for the oxygen reduction reaction is investigated by apply... more The catalytic activity of Pt and Pt3Ni for the oxygen reduction reaction is investigated by applying a Sabatier model based on density functional calculations. We investigate the role of adsorbed OH on the activity, by comparing cyclic voltammetry obtained from theory with previously published experimental results with and without molecular oxygen present. We find that the simple Sabatier model predicts both the potential dependence of the OH coverage and the measured current densities seen in experiments, and that it offers an understanding of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the atomic level. To investigate kinetic effects we develop a simple kinetic model for ORR. Whereas kinetic corrections only matter close to the volcano top, an interesting outcome of the kinetic model is a first order dependence on the oxygen pressure. Importantly, the conclusion obtained from the simple Sabatier model still persists: an intermediate binding of OH corresponds to the highest catalytic activity, i.e. Pt is limited by a too strong OH binding and Pt3Ni is limited by a too weak OH binding.
ABSTRACT Understanding the nature of photogenerated carriers in a photocatalyst is central to und... more ABSTRACT Understanding the nature of photogenerated carriers in a photocatalyst is central to understanding its photocatalytic performance. Based on density functional theory calculation we show that for TiO2, the most popular photo-catalyst, the electron hole self-trapping leads to band gap states which position is dependent on the type of surface termination. Such variations in hole state energies can lead to differences in photocatalytic activity among rutile and anatase surface facets. We find that the calculated hole state energies correlate with photo-deposition and photo-etching rates. We anticipated that our results can aid the design of more reactive photo-catalysts based on TiO2 and our approach can be utilized for other relevant photo-catalysts as well.
ABSTRACT Using the binding energy of OH* and CO* on close-packed surfaces as reactivity descripto... more ABSTRACT Using the binding energy of OH* and CO* on close-packed surfaces as reactivity descriptors, we screen bulk and surface alloy catalysts for methanol electro-oxidation activity. Using these two descriptors, we illustrate that a good methanol electro-oxidation catalyst must have three key properties: (1) the ability to activate methanol, (2) the ability to activate water, and (3) the ability to react off surface intermediates (such as CO* and OH*). Based on this analysis, an alloy catalyst made up of Cu and Pt should have a synergistic effect facilitating the activity towards methanol electro-oxidation. Using these two reactivity descriptors, a surface PtCu3 alloy is proposed to have the best catalytic properties of the Pt–Cu model catalysts tested, similar to those of a Pt–Ru bulk alloy. To validate the model, experiments on a Pt(111) surface modified with different amounts of Cu adatoms are performed. Adding Cu to a Pt(111) surface increases the methanol oxidation current by more than a factor of three, supporting our theoretical predictions for improved electrocatalysts.
ABSTRACT Density functional theory calculations explain copper's unique ability to conver... more ABSTRACT Density functional theory calculations explain copper's unique ability to convert CO2 into hydrocarbons, which may open up (photo-)electrochemical routes to fuels.
ABSTRACT We study electronic hole localization in rutile and anatase titanium dioxide by means of... more ABSTRACT We study electronic hole localization in rutile and anatase titanium dioxide by means of Δ-Self-Consistent Field Density Functional Theory. In order to compare stabilities of the localized and the delocalized hole states we introduce a simple correction to the wrong description of the localization processes within DFT. The correction removes the non-linearity of energy for fractional excitations. We show that the self-trapped and the delocalized hole states have comparable stability in rutile TiO2 whereas in anatase the former is favoured. The theoretical prediction of the adiabatic Potential Energy Surfaces for the hole localization compares well with published photoluminescence measurements.
ABSTRACT Abstract We present first principle investigation of the influence of platinum nanoparti... more ABSTRACT Abstract We present first principle investigation of the influence of platinum nanoparticle shape and size on the oxygen reduction reaction activity. We compare the activities of nanoparticles with specific shapes (tetrahedron, octahedron, cube and truncated octahedron) with that of equilibrium particle shape at 0.9 V. Furthermore, the influence of support is assessed by looking at the particles with and without support interactions. The equilibrium shape is determined by calculating the changes in surface energies with potential for low-index platinum facets; (111), (100) and (110). This has been done by explicitly taking the coverage of oxygenated species into account. A kinetic model derived from counting the number of sites shows that the theoretical activity obtained for equilibrium particle fits well with experimental data. Particles with ~3 nm diameter are found to possess the highest activity. Graphical Abstract The influence of particle size and shape on the activity of platinum nanoparticles for oxygen reduction reaction has been assessed by means of modelling using the surface free energies of low-indexed platinum facets at 0.9 V. The input data for modelling are obtained from density functional theory calculations.
Compositionally complex materials such as high-entropy alloys and oxides have the potential to be... more Compositionally complex materials such as high-entropy alloys and oxides have the potential to be efficient platforms for catalyst discovery because of the vast chemical space spanned by these novel materials. Identifying the composition of the most active catalyst materials, however, requires unraveling the descriptor-activity relationship, as experimental screening the multitude of possible element ratios quickly becomes a daunting task. In this work, we show that inferred adsorption energy distributions of *OH and *O on complex solid solution surfaces within the space spanned by the system Ag-Pd-Pt-Ru are coupled to the experimentally observed electrocatalytic performance for the oxygen reduction reaction. In total, the catalytic activity of 1582 alloy compositions is predicted with a cross-validated mean absolute error of 0.042 mA/cm2 by applying a theory-derived model with only two adjustable parameters. Trends in the discrepancies between predicted electrochemical performance ...
The catalytic activity of Pt and Pt3Ni for the oxygen reduction reaction is investigated by apply... more The catalytic activity of Pt and Pt3Ni for the oxygen reduction reaction is investigated by applying a Sabatier model based on density functional calculations. We investigate the role of adsorbed OH on the activity, by comparing cyclic voltammetry obtained from theory with previously published experimental results with and without molecular oxygen present. We find that the simple Sabatier model predicts both the potential dependence of the OH coverage and the measured current densities seen in experiments, and that it offers an understanding of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the atomic level. To investigate kinetic effects we develop a simple kinetic model for ORR. Whereas kinetic corrections only matter close to the volcano top, an interesting outcome of the kinetic model is a first order dependence on the oxygen pressure. Importantly, the conclusion obtained from the simple Sabatier model still persists: an intermediate binding of OH corresponds to the highest catalytic activity, i.e. Pt is limited by a too strong OH binding and Pt3Ni is limited by a too weak OH binding.
ABSTRACT Understanding the nature of photogenerated carriers in a photocatalyst is central to und... more ABSTRACT Understanding the nature of photogenerated carriers in a photocatalyst is central to understanding its photocatalytic performance. Based on density functional theory calculation we show that for TiO2, the most popular photo-catalyst, the electron hole self-trapping leads to band gap states which position is dependent on the type of surface termination. Such variations in hole state energies can lead to differences in photocatalytic activity among rutile and anatase surface facets. We find that the calculated hole state energies correlate with photo-deposition and photo-etching rates. We anticipated that our results can aid the design of more reactive photo-catalysts based on TiO2 and our approach can be utilized for other relevant photo-catalysts as well.
ABSTRACT Using the binding energy of OH* and CO* on close-packed surfaces as reactivity descripto... more ABSTRACT Using the binding energy of OH* and CO* on close-packed surfaces as reactivity descriptors, we screen bulk and surface alloy catalysts for methanol electro-oxidation activity. Using these two descriptors, we illustrate that a good methanol electro-oxidation catalyst must have three key properties: (1) the ability to activate methanol, (2) the ability to activate water, and (3) the ability to react off surface intermediates (such as CO* and OH*). Based on this analysis, an alloy catalyst made up of Cu and Pt should have a synergistic effect facilitating the activity towards methanol electro-oxidation. Using these two reactivity descriptors, a surface PtCu3 alloy is proposed to have the best catalytic properties of the Pt–Cu model catalysts tested, similar to those of a Pt–Ru bulk alloy. To validate the model, experiments on a Pt(111) surface modified with different amounts of Cu adatoms are performed. Adding Cu to a Pt(111) surface increases the methanol oxidation current by more than a factor of three, supporting our theoretical predictions for improved electrocatalysts.
ABSTRACT Density functional theory calculations explain copper's unique ability to conver... more ABSTRACT Density functional theory calculations explain copper's unique ability to convert CO2 into hydrocarbons, which may open up (photo-)electrochemical routes to fuels.
ABSTRACT We study electronic hole localization in rutile and anatase titanium dioxide by means of... more ABSTRACT We study electronic hole localization in rutile and anatase titanium dioxide by means of Δ-Self-Consistent Field Density Functional Theory. In order to compare stabilities of the localized and the delocalized hole states we introduce a simple correction to the wrong description of the localization processes within DFT. The correction removes the non-linearity of energy for fractional excitations. We show that the self-trapped and the delocalized hole states have comparable stability in rutile TiO2 whereas in anatase the former is favoured. The theoretical prediction of the adiabatic Potential Energy Surfaces for the hole localization compares well with published photoluminescence measurements.
ABSTRACT Abstract We present first principle investigation of the influence of platinum nanoparti... more ABSTRACT Abstract We present first principle investigation of the influence of platinum nanoparticle shape and size on the oxygen reduction reaction activity. We compare the activities of nanoparticles with specific shapes (tetrahedron, octahedron, cube and truncated octahedron) with that of equilibrium particle shape at 0.9 V. Furthermore, the influence of support is assessed by looking at the particles with and without support interactions. The equilibrium shape is determined by calculating the changes in surface energies with potential for low-index platinum facets; (111), (100) and (110). This has been done by explicitly taking the coverage of oxygenated species into account. A kinetic model derived from counting the number of sites shows that the theoretical activity obtained for equilibrium particle fits well with experimental data. Particles with ~3 nm diameter are found to possess the highest activity. Graphical Abstract The influence of particle size and shape on the activity of platinum nanoparticles for oxygen reduction reaction has been assessed by means of modelling using the surface free energies of low-indexed platinum facets at 0.9 V. The input data for modelling are obtained from density functional theory calculations.
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Papers by Jan Rossmeisl