Microwave-Induced Structural Ordering of Resilient Nanostructured L10-FePt Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

We show how structurally ordered L10 face-centered tetragonal (fct) FePt nanoparticles are produced by a solid-state microwave-assisted synthesis method. The structural phase as well as the incorporated Fe into the nanoparticles is confirmed by X-ray diffraction and high resolution high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy experiments. The prepared particles exhibit a remarkable resilience toward crystallite growth at high temperatures. Directly correlated to the L10 phase, the best oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) characteristics are achieved for particles with a 1:1 Fe:Pt atomic ratio and an average size of ~2.9 nm where Pt-specific evaluation provided a high mass and specific activity of ~570 A/gPt and ~600 μA/cm2Pt respectively. Our results demonstrate that well-structured catalysts possessing activities vastly exceeding Pt/C (~210 A/gPt & ~250 μA/cm2Pt), can be synthesized through a fast and highly eco-friendly method. We note that the achieved mass activity represent a significant leap toward the theoretical maximum for fully ordered FePt nanoparticles.Originally included in thesis in manuscript form