Printed Liquid Metal-Solid Metal Hybrid Electrodes for Stabilizing Liquid Platinum-Gallium Droplets During...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Electrochemistry

Background:

• Dispersing liquid metal (LM) droplets on solid substrates is difficult due to aggregation and substrate reactivity.
• Gallium (Ga)-based liquid metals often form undesirable intermetallic phases with support metals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a stable method for dispersing Ga-based LM droplets on metallic mesh substrates.
• To enhance the electrochemical reactivity of LM catalysts for key reactions.

Main Methods:

• Created a 3D matrix of fused tungsten nanoparticles (W NPs) to entrap Ga-LM droplets.
• Printed W/LM composites onto porous molybdenum (Mo) mesh substrates.
• Evaluated catalyst performance using CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) as model systems.

Main Results:

• The W NP matrix effectively prevented Ga-LM droplet agglomeration and stabilized their surfaces.
• Printing W/LM composites on Mo mesh enhanced dispersion and electrochemical reactivity.
• The Pt-in-Ga/W/Mo system demonstrated remarkable stability and reactivity for both CO2RR and HER.

Conclusions:

• Adaptive liquid metal catalysts can be stabilized using nanoparticle matrices for enhanced electrochemical applications.
• Computational studies revealed distinct active sites for different reactions, highlighting catalyst adaptability.
• This strategy offers a promising route for developing advanced, stable, and reactive heterogeneous catalysts.