Preventing the CO poisoning on Pt nanocatalyst using appropriate substrate: a first-principles study

Adsorption energies and stable configurations of CO on the Pt clusters are investigated using the first-principles density-functional theory method. It is found that the adsorption of CO on the top site of the Pt4 cluster is more stable than that on the bridge site. The atomic charges are unevenly distributed within the charged Pt4 cluster, and the structural positions of the Pt atoms determine their charge states and therefore their activity. A systematic study on the effects of electrons and holes doping in the Pt4 clusters suggest an effective method to prevent the CO poisoning through regulating the total charge in Pt4 clusters. The graphene-based substrate is an ideal catalyst support, which makes the Pt catalyst lose electron and weakens the CO adsorption. The results would be of great importance for designing high active nanoscale Pt catalysts used for fuel cells.