(Press-News.org) Introduced in 2004, high-entropy alloys (HEAs) are alloys composed of multiple principal elements in nearly equiatomic proportions. Their unique chemical composition results in a high degree of chemical disorder, i.e. entropy, and produces remarkable properties such as high strength, ductility, and strong wear-and-tear resistance even at high temperatures. Scientists have dedicated a significant amount of attention to developing novel HEAs to help improve the performance of various electrocatalyst materials.
Because they are made up of differing constituent elements, HEAs' atomic-level surface designs can be complex. But unravelling this complexity is crucial, since the surface properties of materials often dictate their catalytic activity. Hence why researchers are seeking to understand the correlation between the atomic arrangement and the catalytic properties exhibited by HEAs.
Now, a collaborative research team has created a new experimental platform that enables the control of the atomic-level structure of HEAs' surfaces and the ability to test their catalytic properties. Their breakthrough was reported in the journal Nature Communications on July 26, 2023.
"In our study we made thin layers of an alloy called a Cantor alloy, which contains a mix of elements (Cr-Mn-Fe-Co-Ni), on platinum (Pt) substrates," explains Toshimasa Wadayama, co-author of the paper and a professor at Tohoku University's Graduate School of Environmental Studies. "This produced a model surface for studying a specific reaction called the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR)."
Using advanced imaging techniques, the group examined the atomic-level structure of the Pt-HEAs' surfaces and studied their ORR properties. They discovered that the Pt-HEAs' surfaces performed better in ORR compared to surfaces made of a platinum-cobalt alloy. This indicates that the atomic arrangement and distribution of elements near the surface, which creates a 'pseudo-core-shell-like structure,' contributes to the excellent catalytic properties of Pt-HEAs.
Wadayama and his group stress the wide applicability of their findings, both for any constituent elements and to other nanomaterials.
"Our newly constructed experimental study platform provides us with a powerful tool to elucidate the detailed relationship between multi-component alloy surface microstructures and their catalytic properties. It is valid for clarifying the precise correlations among the atomic-level, surface microstructure and electrocatalytic properties of HEAs of any constituent elements and ratios and, thus, would provide reliable training datasets for materials informatics. The platform is applicable not only to electrocatalysis but also in various fields of functional nanomaterials."
Looking ahead, the group hopes to expand this platform into practical electrocatalysis by using Pt-HEA-nanoparticles that seek to increase electrochemical surface areas.
END
Researchers reveal a powerful platform for studying high-entropy alloy electrocatalysis
2023-07-28
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
San Diego family shares recent tragedy of losing daughter to necrotizing enterocolitis, as NEC Society prepares for the NEC Symposium in San Diego
2023-07-28
San Diego, CA - The NEC Society and Cincinnati Children’s have teamed up to present the NEC Symposium, the only conference in North America dedicated to understanding and preventing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). NEC is a devastating intestinal disease that affects medically fragile infants in their first weeks and months of life. Every year in the United States, thousands of babies are diagnosed with NEC and at least one baby dies from NEC every day. The NEC Symposium will transform the NEC Research ...
Citizen science inspires kids to take local action
2023-07-28
North Carolina State University researchers recently found that a program designed to get Girl Scouts involved in citizen science – programs where members of the public can participate in real scientific research – not only taught girls about the process of science, but also motivated them to tackle scientific or environmental problems in their communities.
The findings demonstrate the impacts citizen science projects can have on their participants and offer lessons for other organizations on how to structure STEM-focused learning opportunities using citizen science.
“We’ve found that after participating ...
The structures of six states of a rotary sodium ion pump are revealed
2023-07-28
Six structures exhibited by the rotating sodium ion pump were reconstructed in 3D using cryo-electron microscopy. This analysis revealed that (1) the rotor exhibits non-uniform rotation behavior due to partial structural interference with the stator component, and (2) the rotor interacts with one edge of the large ion transport ring causing it to rotate. The study showed a unique molecular mechanism of the rotary sodium ion pump.
The results will be published on July 28 in Communications Biology.
“In previous single-molecule imaging ...
New research highlights risks of selective adaptation in extreme coral habitats
2023-07-28
Resilient corals, often referred to as ‘super corals’, have recently been seen as potential saviours in the face of climate change and its detrimental effects on coral reefs.
Now, a team of scientists from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the University of Haifa, Israel is working to better understand these corals in order to develop strategies to protect fragile ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef.
UTS scientist Dr Emma Camp, co-lead researcher on the study recently published in the journal Nature Communications, says the findings have significant implications ...
What nap times reveal about your child’s brain development
2023-07-28
Infants who nap a lot have smaller vocabularies and poorer cognitive skills – according to new research from the University of East Anglia.
Parents the world over are prone to worry about their children getting either too little or too much sleep.
But a new study published today reveals that some children are more efficient at consolidating information during sleep, so they nap less frequently.
Meanwhile others, usually those with fewer words and poorer cognitive skills, need to nap more frequently.
The research team say that reducing naps for these children will not improve brain development, ...
Activewear angst: Why shopping for workout clothes can be harmful to women
2023-07-28
Though it’s just as likely to be worn while lounging on the couch as in the gym, a large driver of activewear’s popularity among women is its association with a dynamic lifestyle, positive wellbeing and overall good health.
However, two new Edith Cowan University (ECU) studies suggest online shopping for activewear may in fact be harmful to women’s body image.
Sales of “Athleisure” — a hybrid style of athletic clothing typically worn as everyday wear — have risen rapidly following ...
This 3D printed gripper doesn’t need electronics to function
2023-07-28
This soft robotic gripper is not only 3D printed in one print, it also doesn’t need any electronics to work.
The device was developed by a team of roboticists at the University of California San Diego, in collaboration with researchers at the BASF corporation, who detailed their work in a recent issue of Science Robotics.
The researchers wanted to design a soft gripper that would be ready to use right as it comes off the 3D printer, equipped with built in gravity and touch sensors. As a result, the gripper can pick up, hold, and release objects. No such gripper existed before this work.
“We ...
Structure of opioid receptors may reveal how to better design pain relievers, addiction therapies
2023-07-28
Opioids remain the most potent and effective pain relievers in medicine, but they’re also among the most addictive drugs that can halt a person’s ability to breathe during an overdose — which can be deadly. Researchers have been racing to develop safer pain reliever drugs that target a specific opioid receptor, called the kappa opioid receptor, that is only found in the central nervous system and not elsewhere in the body, like other opioid receptors. Previous research suggests that such drugs may not lead to addiction or death due to overdose, but ...
Osivax announces publication in The Lancet Infectious Diseases of Phase 2a data for broad-spectrum influenza vaccine candidate, OVX836
2023-07-28
OVX836 demonstrated positive safety and immunogenicity data across three dose levels
A notable signal of protection of 84% was observed against symptomatic influenza infection
Lyon, France – July 28, 2023 – Osivax, a biopharmaceutical company developing vaccines to provide broad-spectrum protection against highly mutating infectious viruses, today announced that The Lancet Infectious Diseases published results from the company’s OVX836-003 study under the title, “Immunogenicity, safety and preliminary efficacy evaluation of OVX836, a nucleoprotein-based universal influenza A vaccine candidate: randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled, Phase 2a trial.” ...
Study reveals vital role of supportive managers to minimize physical restraint use in care homes
2023-07-28
A new Cochrane review finds that the use of physical restraints on care home residents can be reduced without increasing the risk of falls, when frontline care staff are empowered by supportive managers.
Physical restraints are devices that restrict freedom of movement and are frequently used in residential care homes, such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Examples are bed rails or belts that prevent residents from getting out of bed unassisted. These restraints are ethically problematic as they are mostly ...