Nanoengineered catalysts: From greener processing method to green energy application

Nanoengineered catalysts have been increasingly utilized for green energy applications (e.g., fuel cells, lithium-air batteries, solar cells, etc.). The control of size, shape, composition, phase and surface properties of such catalysts is very important. Most existing methods used for such a control involved use of large amounts of organic solvents in the synthesis and processing. This report discusses recent findings of our investigation of thermally activated processing methods with minimum or no organic solvents for the control of these nanostructural parameters. A key focus of the investigation is the understanding of the thermal evolution of size, shape, and composition for bimetallic/trimetallic nanoparticles. Examples illustrating the applications of the nanoengineered catalysts in PEM fuel cells and lithium-oxygen batteries will also be discussed.