Stability of Ptn cluster on free/defective graphene: A first-principles study

With first-principles methods, we investigate the stability of isolated Pt-n, clusters from Sutton-Chen model and close-packed model, and their adsorption on defected graphene. The single-vacancy in graphene is found to enhance obviously the adsorption energy of Pt cluster on graphene due to the introduction of localized states near Fermi level. It is found that the close-packed model is more stable than Sutton-Chen model for the adsorption of Ptn cluster on single-vacancy graphene, except the magic number n = 13. The cluster Pt-13 may be the richest one for small Pt clusters on defected graphene due to the strong adsorption on single-vacancy. The larger cluster adsorbed on defected graphene is predicted with the close-packed crystal structure. The charge is found to transfer from the Pt atom/cluster to graphene with the charge accumulation at the interface and the charge polarization on Pt cluster. The strong interaction between Pt cluster and single vacancy can anchor effectively the Pt nanoparticles on graphene and is also expected that the new states introduced near Fermi level can enhance the catalytic characteristic of Pt cluster. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.