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Strain Influences the Hydrogen Evolution Activity and Absorption Capacity of Palladium
Author(s) -
Jansonius Ryan P.,
Schauer Phil A.,
Dvorak David J.,
MacLeod Benjamin P.,
Fork David K.,
Berlinguette Curtis P.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.202005248
Subject(s) - palladium , electrocatalyst , electrochemistry , hydrogen , strain (injury) , ultimate tensile strength , electrode , materials science , absorption (acoustics) , catalysis , chemistry , chemical engineering , inorganic chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , medicine , engineering
Strain engineering can increase the activity and selectivity of an electrocatalyst. Tensile strain is known to improve the electrocatalytic activity of palladium electrodes for reduction of carbon dioxide or dioxygen, but determining how strain affects the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is complicated by the fact that palladium absorbs hydrogen concurrently with HER. We report here a custom electrochemical cell, which applies tensile strain to a flexible working electrode, that enabled us to resolve how tensile strain affects hydrogen absorption and HER activity for a thin film palladium electrocatalyst. When the electrodes were subjected to mechanically‐applied tensile strain, the amount of hydrogen that absorbed into the palladium decreased, and HER electrocatalytic activity increased. This study showcases how strain can be used to modulate the hydrogen absorption capacity and HER activity of palladium.