Vojislav Stamenkovic

Argonne National Laboratory, Materials Science Division, Argonne, IL 60439, USA

Electrocatalysis is a subclass of heterogeneous catalysis that is aimed towards increase of the electrochemical reaction rates that are taking place at the surfaces. Real-world electrocatalysts are usually based on precious metals in the form of nanoparticles due to their high surface-to-volume ratio, which enables better utilization of employed materials. Ability to tailor nanostructure of an electrocatalyst is critical in order to tune their electrocatalytic properties. Over the last decade, that has mainly been achieved through implementation of fundamental studies performed on well-defined extended surfaces with distinct single crystalline and polycrystalline structures. Based on these studies, it has been demonstrated that performance of an electrocatalyst could be significantly changed through the control of size, composition, morphology and architecture of employed nanomaterials. This presentation will outline the most important in development of an efficient electrocatalyst: 1) electrochemical properties of well-defined surfaces, 2) synthesis and characterization of different electrocatalysts, and 3) correlation between physical properties (size, shape, composition and morphology) and electrochemical behavior (activity and durability). In addition, a novel research platform in the development of functional nanomaterials for energy conversion and storage applications such as fuel cells electrolyzers and batteries will also be presented.