Scalable, high performance, enzymatic cathodes based on nanoimprint lithography

• Dmitry Pankratov,
• Richard Sundberg,
• Javier Sotres,
• Dmitry B. Suyatin,
• Ivan Maximov,
• Sergey Shleev and
• Lars Montelius

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1377–1384, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.142

• : bilirubin oxidase; bio-electrocatalysis; direct electron transfer; nanoimprint lithography; oxygen reduction reaction; Introduction Reduction of oxygen (O2) is the key reaction in many natural and artificial systems, and indeed, this reaction is one of the most interesting research issues in both academia

• -electrocatalysis [24]. kcatapp values for BOx/Au and BOx/NIL/Au electrodes were found to be 30 and 39 s−1, respectively (Supporting Information File 1, Table S1), whereas kcat in homogeneous catalysis was measured to be 57 s−1 (see above). kcatapp values for BOx/Au and BOx/NIL/Au electrodes were recorded at 30 and

Electrocatalysis on the nm scale

• R. Jürgen Behm

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1008–1009, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.103

• R. Jurgen Behm Institute of Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 47, D-89081 Ulm, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.6.103 Keywords: electrocatalysis; The past two decades have seen a renewed and rapidly growing interest in the fields of electrochemistry and

• electrocatalysis. This is on the one hand stimulated by applications in energy conversion and energy storage, where highly efficient electrochemical/electrocatalytic processes are considered to be an indispensable part of modern energy concepts based on the use of renewable energy sources. However, it is also

• , “Electrocatalysis on the nm scale”. This work was initiated by and is largely based on a workshop organized by the Research Group, “Elementary Reaction Steps in Electrocatalysis: Theory meets Experiment”, which was held at Reisensburg Castle (close to Ulm, Germany) in 2013. As suggested by the name of the Research

Liquid fuel cells

• Grigorii L. Soloveichik

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1399–1418, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.153

• regeneration requires an off-board multi-step process that is usually very energy demanding. For example, sodium borate can be regenerated to NaBH4 via ballmilling with MgH2 [35]. Another approach, which is a focus of the “Energy Frontier Research Center for Electrocatalysis, Transport Phenomena, and Materials

Synthesis, characterization, and growth simulations of Cu–Pt bimetallic nanoclusters

• Subarna Khanal,
• Ana Spitale,
• Nabraj Bhattarai,
• Daniel Bahena,
• J. Jesus Velazquez-Salazar,
• Sergio Mejía-Rosales,
• Marcelo M. Mariscal and
• Miguel José-Yacaman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1371–1379, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.150

• CO2 easily, and useful for electrocatalysis in fuel cells. There is an increasing interest in combining morphology engineering with the synergistic effect of adding a second metal to produce Pt-based particles with higher catalytic activities than pure Pt catalysts [14][15][16][17]. The stability at

Double layer effects in a model of proton discharge on charged electrodes

• Johannes Wiebe and
• Eckhard Spohr

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 973–982, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.111

• behavior cannot be based solely on the electrochemical potential (or surface charge) but needs to resort to the molecular details of the double layer structure. Keywords: electrocatalysis; interfacial electrochemistry; proton discharge; reactive force field; trajectory calculations; Introduction One of

• experimentally the platinum surface exhibits one of the highest exchange current densities for the proton discharge reaction. Much research effort in electrocatalysis is directed towards replacing this expensive electrocatalyst with cheaper materials and – ideally simultaneously – to further improve the

• in electrocatalysis: Theory meets experiment”. We are also grateful for support by the Cluster of Excellence RESOLV (EXC1069) funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. Computations were in part performed at the UDE Cray computer operated by CCSS.

Volcano plots in hydrogen electrocatalysis – uses and abuses

• Paola Quaino,
• Fernanda Juarez,
• Elizabeth Santos and
• Wolfgang Schmickler

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 846–854, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.96

• good catalyst. Keywords: electrocatalysis; hydrogen evolution; Sabatier’s principle; volcano curve; Introduction Sabatier’s principle [1] is one of the oldest rules in catalysis. For a two-step reaction passing through an adsorbed intermediate, like the hydrogen reaction, it states that the

• adsorption energy should be neither too high nor too low. If it is is too high (endothermic), adsorption is slow and limits the overall rate; if it is too low (exothermic), desorption is slow. In terms of hydrogen electrocatalysis it can be stated more precisely: at the equilibrium potential the free energy

• better sample preparation. Discussion Our group has developed its own theory of hydrogen electrocatalysis, based on a model Hamiltonian, quantum statistics and DFT, which we have reviewed in [8]. From our work we have derived three rules for a good catalyst: It should follow Sabatier’s principle, ΔG ≈ 0

Adsorption and oxidation of formaldehyde on a polycrystalline Pt film electrode: An in situ IR spectroscopy search for adsorbed reaction intermediates

• Zenonas Jusys and
• R. Jürgen Behm

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 747–759, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.87

• dissociative adsorption and oxidation of formaldehyde are discussed. Keywords: electrocatalysis; formaldehyde adsorption; formyl intermediate; in situ spectro-electrochemistry; Pt; Introduction The electrooxidation of organic C1 molecules, in particular of methanol, has been one of the most important topics

• in electrocatalysis over the last decades, both from a fundamental aspect as a model reaction for the oxidation of more complex organic molecules and because of the potential application of these compounds as fuel in direct oxidation fuel cells [1]. In the meantime, it has been generally accepted

Shape-selected nanocrystals for in situ spectro-electrochemistry studies on structurally well defined surfaces under controlled electrolyte transport: A combined in situ ATR-FTIR/online DEMS investigation of CO electrooxidation on Pt

• Sylvain Brimaud,
• Zenonas Jusys and
• R. Jürgen Behm

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 735–746, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.86

• processes occurring simultaneously, oxidative COad removal and re-adsorption of (bi)sulfate anions, and reveal a distinct structure sensitivity in these processes and also in the structural implications of (bi)sulfate re-adsorption on the CO adlayer. Keywords: CO oxidation; electrocatalysis; in situ

Constant chemical potential approach for quantum chemical calculations in electrocatalysis

• Wolfgang B. Schneider and
• Alexander A. Auer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 668–676, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.79

• with the common implicit solvent models this scheme can become a powerful tool, especially for the investigation of omnipresent non-faradaic effects in electrochemistry. Keywords: density functional theory; electrocatalysis; electrochemistry; electronic strutcture theory; nanoparticles; quantum

• chemistry; Introduction In October 2012 the workshop “Elementary reaction steps in electrocatalysis: Theory meets experiment” was held in Reisensburg, Germany. Alongside exquisite experimental work on electrochemistry, numerous prominent contributions displayed the range of modern developments and

• removing fractions of electrons or the introduction of electric fields included explicitly or via counter charges. For this reason, the effect of the explicit inclusion of the electrochemical potential in the electronic structure calculation for phenomena from electrocatalysis has yet to be quantified, and

A catechol biosensor based on electrospun carbon nanofibers

• Dawei Li,
• Zengyuan Pang,
• Xiaodong Chen,
• Lei Luo,
• Yibing Cai and
• Qufu Wei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 346–354, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.39

• morphologies of the CNFs and of the mixtures. Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry were employed to study the electrocatalysis of the catechol biosensor. The results indicated that the sensitivity of the biosensor was 41 µA·mM−1, the detection limit was 0.63 µM, the linear range was 1–1310 µM and the

• and ECNFs and showed that the immobilization process had little influence on the activity of laccase. Direct electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of the laccase–Nafion–ECNFs/GCE Figure 4 presents the cyclic voltammograms of the laccase–Nafion–ECNFs/GCE in acetate buffer (pH 4.0) with scan rates from

Atomic layer deposition, a unique method for the preparation of energy conversion devices

• Julien Bachmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 245–248, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.26

• which can be performed by ALD materials may be rationalized if a few common themes are recognized, which run like a common thread through this Thematic Series: ALD for a direct device function, such as light absorption in solar cells, ion conduction and electrocatalysis in fuel cells, or lithium uptake

3D-nanoarchitectured Pd/Ni catalysts prepared by atomic layer deposition for the electrooxidation of formic acid

• Loïc Assaud,
• Evans Monyoncho,
• Kristina Pitzschel,
• Anis Allagui,
• Matthieu Petit,
• Margrit Hanbücken,
• Elena A. Baranova and
• Lionel Santinacci

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 162–172, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.16

• to grow metallic clusters or it is applied to protect those metallic clusters with an ultrathin metal oxide layer (see, e.g., the reviews [18][19][20]). This deposition method is particularly interesting for electrocatalysis because it allows an accurate control of both growth rate and composition of

Constant-distance mode SECM as a tool to visualize local electrocatalytic activity of oxygen reduction catalysts

• Michaela Nebel,
• Thomas Erichsen and
• Wolfgang Schuhmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 141–151, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.14

• high-resolution SECM experiments to powder-based catalyst preparations. Keywords: electrocatalysis; oxygen reduction; recessed microelectrodes; redox-competition SECM; SECM; scanning electrochemical microscopy; shearforce-based constant-distance mode; Introduction In scanning electrochemical

The role of oxygen and water on molybdenum nanoclusters for electro catalytic ammonia production

• Jakob G. Howalt and
• Tejs Vegge

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 111–120, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.11

• electrochemical ammonia production via the associative mechanism is possible at potentials as low as −0.45 V to −0.7 V. Keywords: ammonia; density functional theory; electrocatalysis; nanoparticles; oxygen poisoning; Introduction Molybdenum nanoclusters have been identified as a prime candidate for

Some reflections on the understanding of the oxygen reduction reaction at Pt(111)

• Ana M. Gómez-Marín,
• Ruben Rizo and
• Juan M. Feliu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 956–967, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.108

• the most important challenges in electrocatalysis and it is undoubtedly the most important cathodic process in fuel cells. It is a complex 4-electron reaction that involves the breaking of a double bond and the formation of 4 OH-bonds through several elementary steps and intermediate species. A

• the goal in electrocatalysis. Hydrogen peroxide oxidation and reduction reactions (HPORR) in the ORR From theoretical calculations, the single soluble intermediate species that could participate in the ORR mechanism is H2O2. However, as discussed above, H2O2 is a stable intermediate in ORR only under

• attained as a first step to understand the electrocatalysis at more complex surfaces such as those of dispersed nanoparticles. Experimental In a similar way as described earlier [8], the working electrodes were prepared from small Pt beads, approximately 2–3 mm in diameter, by the method described by

Electrochemical behavior of dye-linked L-proline dehydrogenase on glassy carbon electrodes modified by multi-walled carbon nanotubes

• Haitao Zheng,
• Leyi Lin,
• Yosuke Okezaki,
• Ryushi Kawakami,
• Haruhiko Sakuraba,
• Toshihisa Ohshima,
• Keiichi Takagi and
• Shin-ichiro Suye

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2010, 1, 135–141, doi:10.3762/bjnano.1.16

• typical Michaelis–Menten catalytic response with lower apparent constant. Keywords: dye-linked L-proline dehydrogenase; electrocatalysis; electron transfer; multi-walled carbon nanotube; Introduction As an essential amino acid for the proper functioning of tendons and joints in the human body, the quick