IMDEA Materials catalyst matches platinum ORR performance with 75% less metal

Researchers at IMDEA Materials Institute report a copper-platinum catalyst that matches pure platinum performance on the oxygen reduction reaction while using 75% less platinum, according to phys.org coverage of a study in Electrochimica Acta. The team deposited a Cu3Pt alloy on a nickel-titanium shape-memory substrate and applied mechanical compression of less than 1%, altering the catalyst's electronic structure. In acidic tests near pH 1, the compressed catalyst reached 855 millivolts at 1 mA/cm2, nearly matching pure platinum at 856 millivolts. Stretching the alloy by 0.80% reduced performance. Lead author Jorge Redondo said elastic strain engineering can cut platinum use by three-quarters while keeping comparable catalytic performance. The process also leaves a thin platinum-enriched surface layer a few nanometers thick after selective copper dissolution. The authors say industrial-scale manufacture and long-term stability of the compression effect still need to be shown.