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Electrochemical Synthesis and Characterisation of Multimetallic Nanostructured Electrocatalysts
Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2016
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| _version_ | 1867613436006891520 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Cukrowski, Ignacy |
| author_browse | Cukrowski, Ignacy |
| author_facet | Cukrowski, Ignacy |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2016, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/53528 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:36:06.757Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/53528 Electrochemical Synthesis and Characterisation of Multimetallic Nanostructured Electrocatalysts Cukrowski, Ignacy u04314476@tuks.co.za Mkwizu, Samwel Peter UCTD Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. This thesis concerns investigations on novel multistage electrochemical deposition of nanostructured systems composed of noble metals platinum, ruthenium, and gold. Various electrochemical synthetic pathways were systematically explored producing multilayered nanoscale electrode systems composed of Pt, Ru, or Au on glassy carbon or crystalline gold used as substrates. Electrochemical pathways involved sequential surface-limited redox-replacement (SLRR) reactions of underpotentially-deposited or overpotentially-deposited copper, potentiostatic dealloying, direct spontaneous deposition of noble metals (without intermediary steps involving redox-replacement templating reactions) as well as sequential codeposition of noble metals (with or without SLRR templating reactions). Fundamental studies were conducted using thermodynamic and kinetic models, in situ electrochemical techniques and ex situ microscopic, spectroscopic, or spectrophotometric techniques employed for probing factors controlling electrode dynamics, electrocatalysis, morphology, bulk and surface compositional properties of the noble metal-based electrode systems. Unique multilayered multimetallic nanoclusters synthesized (with binary active sites of Pt with Ru or Au) exhibited superior electrocatalytic activity towards methanol or formic acid oxidation reactions when benchmarked to equivalent monometallic multilayered Pt. Hydrodynamic electrokinetic studies of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on the multilayered monometallic Pt and bimetallic Rucontaining nanoclusters revealed that the monometallic nanoclusters exhibited direct four-electron ORR whereas electrocatalysis on the bimetallic ones could be tuned to proceed via a two-electron reaction pathway. Electrocatalytic bifunctional reaction mechanisms were especially enhanced by the nanostructured systems investigated. Characterisation of multilayered nanoclusters surface and near-surface metal contents revealed interactions between metal centers, carbon and oxygen containing surface functional groups on the glassy carbon, which appeared to have played a significant role in the overall stabilization and catalytic activity of the electrochemically immobilized nanoclusters. Physico chemical models and characteristics of intermediary Cu adlayers in the electrosynthetic pathways revealed role of Cu surface coverage (within the framework of electrochemical isotherms with kinetic and thermodynamic parameters) and heterogeneity effects, adatom substrate interactions as well as adatom adatom lateral interactions within individual adlayers during multilayer Pt growth on crystalline Au. New relationships for computing trends in the apparent Gibbs free energy of the SLRR reaction provided insights on reaction energetics of the interfacial Pt layered growth. Chemistry PhD Unrestricted 2016-07-01T10:33:21Z 2016-07-01T10:33:21Z 2016-04-05 2015 Thesis Mkwizu, SP 2016, Electrochemical Synthesis and Characterisation of Multimetallic Nanostructured Electrocatalysts, PhD Thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53528> A2016 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53528 en © 2016, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | UCTD Electrochemical Synthesis and Characterisation of Multimetallic Nanostructured Electrocatalysts |
| title | Electrochemical Synthesis and Characterisation of Multimetallic Nanostructured Electrocatalysts |
| title_full | Electrochemical Synthesis and Characterisation of Multimetallic Nanostructured Electrocatalysts |
| title_fullStr | Electrochemical Synthesis and Characterisation of Multimetallic Nanostructured Electrocatalysts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electrochemical Synthesis and Characterisation of Multimetallic Nanostructured Electrocatalysts |
| title_short | Electrochemical Synthesis and Characterisation of Multimetallic Nanostructured Electrocatalysts |
| title_sort | electrochemical synthesis and characterisation of multimetallic nanostructured electrocatalysts |
| topic | UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53528 |