Optimizing the Size of Platinum Nanoparticles for Enhanced Mass Activity in the Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction Reaction

High oxygen reduction (ORR) activity has been for many years considered as the key to many energy applications. Herein, by combining theory and experiment we prepare Pt nanoparticles with optimal size for the efficient ORR in proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells. Optimal nanoparticle sizes are predicted near 1, 2, and 3nm by computational screening. To corroborate our computational results, we have addressed the challenge of approximately 1nm sized Pt nanoparticle synthesis with a metal-organic framework (MOF) template approach. The electrocatalyst was characterized by HR-TEM, XPS, and its ORR activity was measured using a rotating disk electrode setup. The observed mass activities (0.87 +/- 0.14Amg(Pt)(-1)) are close to the computational prediction (0.99Amg(Pt)(-1)). We report the highest to date mass activity among pure Pt catalysts for the ORR within similar size range. The specific and mass activities are twice as high as the Tanaka commercial Pt/C catalysis.