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Photoelectron spectroscopy offers detailed information about the electronic structure and chemical composition of surfaces, owing to the short distance that the photoelectrons can escape from a dense medium. Unfortunately, photoelectron based spectroscopies are not directly compatible with the liquids required to investigate electrochemical processes, especially in the soft X-ray regime. To overcome this issue, different approaches based on photoelectron spectroscopy have been developed in our group over the last few years. The performance and the degree of information provided by these approaches are compared with those of the well established bulk sensitive spectroscopic approach of total fluorescence yield detection, where the surface information gained from this approach is enhanced using samples with large surface to bulk ratios. The operation of these approaches is exemplified and compared using the oxygen evolution reaction on IrOx catalysts. We found that all the approaches, if properly applied, provide similar information about surface oxygen speciation. However, using resonant photoemission spectroscopy, we were able to prove that speciation is more involved and complex than previously thought during the oxygen evolution reaction on IrOx based electrocatalysts. We found that the electrified solid–liquid interface is composed of different oxygen species, where the terminal oxygen atoms on iridium are the active species, yielding the formation of peroxo species and, finally, dioxygen as the reaction product. Thus, the oxygen–oxygen bond formation is dominated by peroxo species formation along the reaction pathway. Furthermore, the methodologies discussed here open up opportunities to investigate electrified solid–liquid interfaces in a multitude of electrochemical processes with unprecedented speciation capabilities, which are not accessible by one-dimensional X-ray spectroscopies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal carbides are promising materials for electrocatalytic reactions such as water electrolysis. However, for application in catalysis for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), protection against oxidative corrosion, a high surface area with facile electrolyte access, and control over the exposed active surface sites are highly desirable. This study concerns a new method for the synthesis of porous tungsten carbide films with template‐controlled porosity that are surface‐modified with thin layers of nickel oxide (NiO) to obtain active and stable OER catalysts. The method relies on the synthesis of soft‐templated mesoporous tungsten oxide (mp. WOx) films, a pseudomorphic transformation into mesoporous tungsten carbide (mp. WCx), and a subsequent shape‐conformal deposition of finely dispersed NiO species by atomic layer deposition (ALD). As theoretically predicted by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the highly conductive carbide support promotes the conversion of Ni2+ into Ni3+, leading to remarkably improved utilization of OER‐active sites in alkaline medium. The obtained Ni mass‐specific activity is about 280 times that of mesoporous NiOx (mp. NiOx) films. The NiO‐coated WCx catalyst achieves an outstanding mass‐specific activity of 1989 A gNi−1 in a rotating‐disc electrode (RDE) setup at 25 °C using 0.1 m KOH as the electrolyte. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Maghemite and magnetite show superparamagnetic behavior when synthesized in a nanostructured form. The material's inducible magnetization enables applications ranging from contrast enhancing agents for magnetic resonance imaging to drug delivery systems, magnetic hyperthermia, and separation. Superparamagnetic iron oxides with templated porosity have been synthesized so far only in the form of hard‐templated powders, where silicon retained from the template severely degrades the material's magnetic properties. Here, for the first time, the synthesis of superparamagnetic iron oxides with soft‐templated mesopore structure is reported. The synthesis of nanostructured maghemite and magnetite films succeeds using micelles of amphiphilic block‐copolymers as templates. A thermal treatment of the initially formed mesoporous ferrihydrite in nitrogen produces maghemite, which can be partly reduced to magnetite via thermal treatment in hydrogen while retaining the templated mesopore structure. The resulting materials feature a unique combination of high surface area, controlled pore diameter, and tunable magnetic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient water electrolysis requires electrode coatings with high catalytic activity. Platinum efficiently catalyzes the hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic environments, but is a rare and expensive metal. The activity achieved per metal atom can be increased if small Pt particles are dispersed onto electrically conductive, highly accessible and stable support materials. However, the addition of Nafion, a typical binder material used in the manufacture of electrode coatings, can decrease catalytic activity by the blocking of pores and active surface sites. A new approach is reported for the direct synthesis of highly active Nafion-free Pt/C catalyst films consisting of small Pt nanoparticles supported in size-controlled mesopores of a conductive carbon film. The synthesis relies on the co-deposition of suitable Pt and C precursors in the presence of polymer micelles, which act as pore templates. Subsequent carbonization in an inert atmosphere produces porous catalyst films with controlled film thickness, pore size and particle size. The catalysts clearly outperform all Nafion-based Pt/C catalysts reported in the literature, particularly at high current densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlling the pore structure of metal oxide films and supported catalysts is an essential requirement for tuning their functionality and long-term stability. Typical synthesis concepts such as "Evaporation Induced Self Assembly" rely on micelle formation and self assembly. These processes are dynamic in nature and therefore strongly influenced by even slight variations in the synthesis conditions. Moreover, the synthesis of very small mesopores (2-5 nm) and independent control over the thickness of pore walls are very difficult to realize with micelle-based approaches. In this contribution, we present a novel approach for the synthesis of mesoporous metal oxide films and catalytic coatings with ordered porosity that decouples template formation and film deposition by use of hyperbranched core-multishell polymers as templates. The approach enables independent control of pore size, wall thickness and the content of catalytically active metal particles. Moreover, dual templating with a combination of hyperbranched core-multishell polymers and micelles provides facile access to hierarchical bimodal porosity. The developed approach is illustrated by synthesizing one of the most common metal oxides (TiO2) and a typical supported catalyst (PdNP/TiO2). Superior catalyst performance is shown for the gas-phase hydrogenation of butadiene. The concept provides a versatile and general platform for the rational optimization of catalysts based e.g. on computational prediction of optimal pore structures and catalyst compositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photoelectron spectroscopy offers detailed information about the electronic structure and chemical composition of surfaces, owing to the short distance that the photoelectrons can escape from a dense medium. Unfortunately, photoelectron based spectroscopies are not directly compatible with the liquids required to investigate electrochemical processes, especially in the soft X-ray regime. To overcome this issue, different approaches based on photoelectron spectroscopy have been developed in our group over the last few years. The performance and the degree of information provided by these approaches are compared with those of the well established bulk sensitive spectroscopic approach of total fluorescence yield detection, where the surface information gained from this approach is enhanced using samples with large surface to bulk ratios. The operation of these approaches is exemplified and compared using the oxygen evolution reaction on IrO x catalysts. We found that all the approaches, if properly applied, provide similar information about surface oxygen speciation. However, using resonant photoemission spectroscopy, we were able to prove that speciation is more involved and complex than previously thought during the oxygen evolution reaction on IrO x based electrocatalysts. We found that the electrified solid-liquid interface is composed of different oxygen species, where the terminal oxygen atoms on iridium are the active species, yielding the formation of peroxo species and, finally, dioxygen as the reaction product. Thus, the oxygen-oxygen bond formation is dominated by peroxo species formation along the reaction pathway. Furthermore, the methodologies discussed here open up opportunities to investigate electrified solid-liquid interfaces in a multitude of electrochemical processes with unprecedented speciation capabilities, which are not accessible by one-dimensional X-ray spectroscopies.

Metal carbides are promising materials for electrocatalytic reactions such as water electrolysis. However, for application in catalysis for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), protection against oxidative corrosion, a high surface area with facile electrolyte access, and control over the exposed active surface sites are highly desirable. This study concerns a new method for the synthesis of porous tungsten carbide films with template-controlled porosity that are surface-modified with thin layers of nickel oxide (NiO) to obtain active and stable OER catalysts. The method relies on the synthesis of soft-templated mesoporous tungsten oxide (mp. WO x ) films, a pseudomorphic transformation into mesoporous tungsten carbide (mp. WC x ), and a subsequent shape-conformal deposition of finely dispersed NiO species by atomic layer deposition (ALD). As theoretically predicted by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the highly conductive carbide support promotes the conversion of Ni 2+ into Ni 3+ , leading to remarkably improved utilization of OER-active sites in alkaline medium. The obtained Ni mass-specific activity is about 280 times that of mesoporous NiO x (mp. NiO x ) films. The NiO-coated WC x catalyst achieves an outstanding mass-specific activity of 1989 A g Ni -1 in a rotating-disc electrode (RDE) setup at 25 °C using 0.1 m KOH as the electrolyte., (© 2021 The Authors. ChemSusChem published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)