Surface structure for enhancing catalyst reactivity and method of manufacturing thereof
View Patent ↗A method of enhancing catalyst reactivity includes (1) depositing a conductive oxide on a suitable substrate, (2) depositing a thin film of catalyst on top of the conductive oxide to form a sandwich structure, and (3) annealing the structure at a, suitable temperature so that the thin film of catalyst forms nano structure hillocks that enhance the catalyst reactivity. An improved fuel cell may use an anode or cathode, or both, formed according to the above method. Such an anode or cathode will include a catalyst nano hillock structure formed on top of a conductive material layer.
1. A method, comprising:
depositing a thin layer of conductive material onto an electrode material;
depositing a layer of conductive oxide onto the thin layer of conductive material;
depositing a thin film of catalyst onto the layer of conductive oxide, the thin film catalyst formed at least in part from a noble metal; and
annealing the catalyst under such conditions that the thin film of catalyst forms hillocks, thereby forming an enhanced reactivity electrode.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electrode material is selected from a group consisting of porous metal, porous metal-ceramics, and carbon composite.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conductive oxide is selected from a group comprising SiO x , RuO 2 , ZnO 2 , SnO 2 , ZnlnO and SrRuO, wherein 0<x<2.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the conductive oxide is an oxygen deficient silicon oxide represented by the formula SiO x , wherein 0<x<2.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the conductive oxide is an oxygen deficient silicon oxide represented by the formula SiO x , wherein 1<x<1.7.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein SiO x is deposited on the electrode material by reactive sputtering.
7. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
subjecting the hillocks to an oxygen plasma process to oxidize a surface of exposed SiO x to SiO 2 .
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst is a noble metal, an alloy of noble metals, or an alloy of noble and non-noble metals.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst is deposited onto the conductive oxide by electron beam evaporation, sputtering, atomic layer deposition, or chemical vapor deposition.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conductive material is a metal or an alloy.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the metal is titanium, chromium or tantalum.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conductive material is deposited onto the electrode material by electron beam evaporation, sputtering, atomic layer deposition, or chemical vapor deposition.
13. A method, comprising:
depositing a layer of conductive oxide onto an electrode material;
depositing a thin film of catalyst onto the layer of conductive oxide, the thin film of catalyst formed at least in part from a noble metal; and
annealing the catalyst under such conditions that the thin film of catalyst forms hillocks, thereby forming an enhanced reactivity electrode.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the conductive oxide is selected from a group comprising SiO x , RuO 2 , ZnO 2 , SnO 2 , ZnInO and SrRuO, wherein 0<x<2.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the conductive oxide is an oxygen deficient silicon oxide represented by the formula SiO x , wherein 0<x<2.
16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the catalyst is a noble metal, an alloy of noble metals, or an alloy of noble and non-noble metals.
17. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
depositing a thin layer of conductive material onto the electrode material prior to the deposition of the conductive oxide.
18. A method, comprising:
depositing a layer of conductive oxide onto an electrode fabricated from a porous conductive material;
depositing a thin film of catalyst onto the layer of conductive oxide, the thin film of catalyst formed at least in part from a noble metal; and
annealing the catalyst under such conditions that the thin film of catalyst forms hillocks.
19. A method for enhancing catalyst reactivity in an electrochemical device, said method comprising:
depositing a layer of conductive oxide onto an electrode formed of an electrode material;
depositing a thin film of catalyst onto the layer of conductive oxide;
annealing the catalyst under such conditions that the thin film of catalyst forms hillocks, wherein formation of hillocks enhances catalyst reactivity; and
positioning the electrode, conductive oxide, and thin film catalyst forming hillocks within the electrochemical device.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the electrode material is selected from a group consisting of porous metal, porous metal-ceramics, and carbon composite.
21. The method of claim 19 , wherein the conductive oxide is selected from a group comprising SiO x , RuO 2 , ZnO 2 , SnO 2 , ZnInO and SrRuO, wherein 0<x<2.
22. The method of claim 19 , wherein the conductive oxide is an oxygen deficient silicon oxide represented by the formula SiO x , wherein 0<x<2.
23. The method of claim 19 , wherein the conductive oxide is an oxygen deficient silicon oxide represented by the SiO x , wherein 1<x<1.7.
24. The method of claim 19 , wherein the catalyst is a noble metal, an alloy of noble metals, or an alloy of noble and non-noble metals.
25. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:
depositing a thin layer of conductive material onto the electrode material prior to the deposition of the conductive oxide.
26. The method of claim 19 , wherein the conductive oxide is a metal or an alloy.
27. The method of 26 , wherein the metal is titanium, chromium or tantalum.
28. The method of claim 19 , wherein the conductive oxide is deposited onto the electrode material by electron beam evaporation, sputtering, atomic layer deposition, or chemical vapor deposition.
29. A method, comprising:
depositing a layer of conductive oxide onto a substrate;
depositing a thin film of catalyst onto the layer of conductive oxide, said thin film of catalyst formed at least in part from a noble metal; and
annealing the catalyst to form hillocks from the thin film of catalyst.
30. The method of claim 29 , wherein the substrate is selected from a group consisting of porous metal, porous metal-ceramics, and carbon composite.
31. The method of claim 29 , wherein the catalyst is a noble metal, an alloy of noble metals, or an alloy of noble and non-noble metals.
32. The method of claim 29 , further comprising:
depositing a thin layer of conductive material onto the electrode material prior to the deposition of the conductive oxide.
33. The method of claim 1 , further comprising employing the enhanced reactivity electrode in an electrochemical device.
34. The method of claim 13 , further comprising incorporating the enhanced reactivity electrode within an electrochemical device.
35. The method of claim 18 , further comprising employing the electrode, conductive oxide, and the thin film of catalyst forming hillocks within an electrochemical device.
36. The method of claim 29 wherein the conductive oxide and thin film of catalyst are subsequently employed within an electrochemical device.
37. A method of forming a device, comprising:
depositing a layer of conductive oxide directly onto a substrate;
depositing a thin film of catalyst directly onto the layer of conductive oxide, said thin film of catalyst formed at least in part from a noble metal; and
annealing the catalyst to form hillocks from the thin film of catalyst.
38. The method of claim 1 wherein the hillocks are exposed.