A first principles study of oxygen reduction reaction on a Pt(111) surface modified by a subsurface transition metal M (M = Ni, Co, or Fe)

We have performed first-principle density functional theory calculations to investigate how a subsurface transition metal M (M = Ni, Co, or Fe) affects the energetics and mechanisms of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on the outermost Pt mono-surface layer of Pt/M(111) surfaces. In this work, we found that the subsurface Ni, Co, and Fe could down-shift the d-band center of the Pt surface layer and thus weaken the binding of chemical species to the Pt/M(111) surface. Moreover, the subsurface Ni, Co, and Fe could modify the heat of reaction and activation energy of various elementary reactions of ORR on these Pt/M(111) surfaces. Our DFT results revealed that, due to the influence of the subsurface Ni, Co, and Fe, ORR would adopt a hydrogen peroxide dissociation mechanism with an activation energy of 0.15 eV on Pt/Ni(111), 0.17 eV on Pt/Co(111), and 0.16 eV on Pt/Fe(111) surface, respectively, for their rate-determining O2 protonation reaction. In contrast, ORR would follow a peroxyl dissociation mechanism on a pure Pt(111) surface with an activation energy of 0.79 eV for its rate-determining O protonation reaction. Thus, our theoretical study explained why the subsurface Ni, Co, and Fe could lead to multi-fold enhancement in catalytic activity for ORR on the Pt mono-surface layer of Pt/M(111) surfaces.