Metal particle size and structure of the metal-support interface of carbon-supported platinum catalysts as determined with EXAFS spectroscopy

The metal particle size and structure of the metal-support interface of platinum supported on Vulcan XC-72 (a commercial catalyst used in platinum fuel-cell electrodes) and on carbon nanofibers (CNF) have been determined with extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS). The CNF-supported Pt catalysts were synthesized using a homogeneous deposition precipitation (HDP) method. The amount of acidic oxygen groups on the CNF surface was modified by treatment in an inert atmosphere at different temperatures. The average first shell Pt-Pt coordination number (similar to5.5) detected in Pt/CNF is much smaller than for Pt/ Vulcan XC-72 (similar to8.2). The presence of oxygen-containing groups in the CNF support most probably leads to the stabilization of small Pt particles on the CNF support. A prominent interaction between the metal particles and the support atoms was detected on both kinds of catalysts, which confirms that the metal is in direct contact with the carbon support atoms. After reduction, a long metal-carbon distance around 2.62 Angstrom was detected in both Pt/Vulcan XC-72 and Pt/CNF. After evacuation of Pt/CNF at higher temperatures, the distance between support and interfacial metal atoms decreased to 2.02 Angstrom. Therefore, the long metal-carbon support distance is ascribed to the presence of atomic chemisorbed hydrogen in the interface between the Pt particles and the carbon support. According to the number of interfacial Pt-C bonds (four), the platinum particles supported on CNF are proposed to be in contact with a prismatic surface of the carbon support, on which oxygen groups have more stable bonds with carbon atoms. Six Pt-C bonds could be detected in the metal-support interface of Pt/Vulcan XC-72 with an even longer carbon shell at 3.62 Angstrom, indicating that the metal particles are located on a more carbon-rich surface. This supports a structural model in which the platinum metal particles are epitaxially grown on the (0001) basal surface plane of carbon graphite.