Aqueous CTAB-assisted electrodeposition of gold atomic clusters and their oxygen reduction electrocatalytic activity in acid solutions

Chinnaiah Jeyabharathi; Shanmugam Senthil Kumar; Gobichettipalayam Venkataramani Manohar Kiruthika; Kanala Lakshmi Narasimha Phani

doi:10.1002/anie.200905614

Aqueous CTAB-assisted electrodeposition of gold atomic clusters and their oxygen reduction electrocatalytic activity in acid solutions

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2010 Apr 6;49(16):2925-8. doi: 10.1002/anie.200905614. Epub 2010 Feb 9.

Authors

Chinnaiah Jeyabharathi¹, Shanmugam Senthil Kumar, Gobichettipalayam Venkataramani Manohar Kiruthika, Kanala Lakshmi Narasimha Phani

Affiliation

¹ Nanoscale Electrocatalysis & Sensor Research Group, Electrodics & Electrocatalysis Division, CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi, India.

PMID: 20146287
DOI: 10.1002/anie.200905614

Abstract

Gradual, yet a great leap: electrosynthesized surfactant-stabilized gold atomic clusters (AuACs; Au(n) , 5≤n≤13) electrocatalyze the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in acid solution at low overpotentials. Depending on the surfactant concentration, the ORR mechanism gradually transits from a direct four-electron to a two-electron pathway (see picture; SHE=standard hydrogen electrode), which suggests the transformation of atomic clusters into nanoparticles.