Electrifying model catalysis: Out of the vacuum – into the electrolyte

F. Faisal et al., Nat. Mater. 17, 592 (2018); DOI: 10.1038/s41563-018-0088-3



Electrocatalytic processes are the key to a transition to a renewable energy system, but our understanding of them is limited. We describe a new strategy for fundamental studies by applying surface science methods to explore electrocatalytic reactions on complex oxide-based model catalysts in liquid electrolytes. We transfer an atomically-defined platinum/cobalt oxide model catalyst between vacuum and the electrochemical environment while preserving its atomic structure. Our results make possible a systematic approach to creating atomicallydefined model electrodes for electrocatalytic studies.