Abstract
Platinum is the most used electrocatalyst in electrochemical energy conversion devices such as fuel cells and electrolysers. In this talk I will highlight the recent work of my group on understanding the surface chemistry of platinum in an aqueous electrolyte, by combining single-crystal electrochemistry, density functional theory calculations, ultra-high-vacuum modeling, in situ spectroscopy and in situ electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy. I will challenge some existing explanations and interpretations of platinum electrochemistry, and show the sometimes surprising surface disordering of platinum that happens at both positive (anodic) and negative (cathodic) potentials.
Bio
Marc Koper is Professor of Surface Chemistry and Catalysis at Leiden University, The Netherlands. He received his PhD degree (1994) from Utrecht University (The Netherlands) with a thesis on nonlinear dynamics and oscillations in electrochemistry. He was an EU Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ulm (Germany) and a Fellow of Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) at Eindhoven University of Technology, before moving to Leiden University in 2005. His research in Leiden focuses on fundamental aspects of electrocatalysis, theoretical electrochemistry, and electrochemical surface science, in relation to renewable energy and chemistry.