Engineering Commons^™

Electrochemical Preparation And Photocatalytic Performance Of Lanio3/Tio2 Nanotube Arrays, Cheng Gong, Ze-Yang Zhang, Si-Wan Xiang, Lan Sun, Chen-Qing Ye, Chang-Jian Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

The LaNiO₃/TiO₂ nanotube arrays were prepared by pulse electrodeposition combined with high temperature annealing. The LaNiO₃ nanoparticles modified on the TiO₂ nanotube arrays had small particle size (< 10 nm), uniform distribution and controllable loading. Some LaNiO3 nanoparticles were deposited inside the TiO₂ nanotubes. The UV-visible absorption spectra displayed that the absorption band edge of LaNiO₃/TiO₂ nanotube arrays was obviously red-shifted as compared with that of TiO₂ nanotube arrays, and the visible light absorption was enhanced significantly. The photocatalytic degradation results of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light showed that the LaNiO₃/TiO₂ nanotube arrays prepared by pulse electrodeposition for 500 cycles had …

Electrochemical Cycling Stability Of Polyaniline Films In Different Color Ranges, Kun Xu, Kai-Ling Zhou, Hao Wang, Jing-Bing Liu, Hui Yan

Journal of Electrochemistry

The electrochromic behaviors of polyaniline films were investigated by potential step and cyclic voltammetry coupled with UV viscosity photometer. The polyaniline films show colorful changes from pale yellow to green and then to blue. Electrochromic stability, electrochemical behavior, coloring performance, optical properties and surface formations of the produced films were studied in detail. The working electrode was the flexible PANI electrode, and the counter electrode and the reference electrode were a platinum sheet and Ag/AgCl, respectively. The in situ optical transmittance of the PANI film at 650 nm was measured using an ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared spectrophotometer (Shimadzu UV-3101PC) combining with a square …

Transient Electrochemical Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopic Study In Electrochemical Reduction Of P-Nitrothiophenol, Yun Ling, Jing Tang, Guo-Kun Liu, Cheng Zong

Journal of Electrochemistry

P-nitrothiophenol (PNTP) is one of the most common probe molecules studied by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The research in electrochemical reduction behavior of PNTP will help understanding the mechanism for the nitrobenzene reduction. In this paper, we used transient electrochemical surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TEC-SERS) to study the SERS of PNTP with cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry on gold electrodes. The results show that the TEC-SERS provide a time resolution that equals the transient electrochemical methods, and we concluded that the reaction was so quick that we did not observe the spectral information of intermediate species described in the literatures with a …

Quantitative Detection Of Levofloxacin Hydrochloride By Differential Pulse Stripping Voltammetry With Electrodeposited Bismuth Film Electrodes, Zi-Ying Guo, Zuo-Peng Li, Jiang Li, Jian-Guo Zhao, Feng Feng

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this study, differential pulse stripping voltammetry was developed for the quantitative detection of levofloxacin hydrochloride indirectly. Levofloxacin hydrochloride contains organic amine, which can be precipitated upon interaction with Zn(SCN)₄^2-. By means of differential pulse stripping voltammetry, the concentration of Zn²⁺ can be determined using an in-situ formed bismuth film electrode, which allows determining indirectly the amount of levofloxacine hydrochloride. The linearity equation, I = 1.1401c - 0.5309 with the correlative coefficient R = 0.9979, was presented in the experiment. The results showed that this approach is very sensitive, having a limitation of detection of 3.18 …

Polyaniline Coated Hollow Sulfur Prepared Using Sublimate 2,4,6-Tri(Propan-2-Yl)-1,3,5-Trioxane As Template For Sulfur Electrode, Zhang-Feng Li, Xiao-Rui Wang, Wen-Sheng Tian, Jin-Ze Yang, Ping Zhang, Li-Ping Ma, Yang Chen, Xiao-Li Cui, Zhi-Yu Jiang

Journal of Electrochemistry

An advance method for preparing polyaniline-coated hollow sulfur material using sublimate material ADD(2,4,6-tri(propan-2-yl)-1,3,5-trioxane) as a template was developed for lithium-sulfur battery. At first, the smashed ADD particles were coated by a sulfur layer through the reaction of Na₂S₂O₃ with diluted HCl. Then polyaniline layer was coated again on the surface of sulfur layer through the reaction of aniline with (NH₄)₂S₂O₈. After being dried at 60 ^oC for 12 h, the ADD in such a composite evaporated totally, and resulted in the formation of polyaniline-coated hollow sulfur …

Electrochemical Determination Of Trace Copper Ions In Drinking Water Source, Jing-Ji Peng, Hong Zheng, Yi-Song Zou, Guo-Kun Liu, Dong-Xing Yuan

Journal of Electrochemistry

Aiming at the on-site and quick safety evaluation of the dissolved trace copper ions (Cu²⁺) in drinking water source, an electrochemical detection platform was developed on the basis of the square wave anodic stripping voltammetry using the gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) modified glassy carbon electrode, where Au NPs were deposited via electrochemical cyclic voltammetry. The proposed method displayed the limit of detection as low as 1.3 μg·L^-1 in the linear range of 2 ~ 50 μg·L^-1. The proposed method was applied to the determination of Cu²⁺ in the midstream of Minjiang River, one of …

Bipolar-Membrane Electrodialysis Method To Treat Industrial High Saline Perfume Wastewater, Jian Zhang, Dong-Fang Niu, Shuo-Zhen Hu, Xin-Sheng Zhang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Large amount of organic saline wastewater is generated from various chemical industries. The contents of organic saline wastewater are more and more complicated as they are created from different types of industries. Directly discharging the organic saline wastewater without pre-treatment can generate severe environmental problem and waste useful resources. It is necessary to use an economical method to treat the organic saline wastewater and recover the salt into useful materials to achieve resource reuse. Bipolar-membrane electrodialysis (BMED) is one of the methods that can remove salt from the wastewater and convert it into certain acid and base with higher value …

Study On Electro-Sorption Of Heavy Metals And Sulfamethoxazole On Activated Carbon Fibers, Wen-Jun Zhao, Bing-Xin Jia, Ya-Nan Zhang, Jiu-Nian Guan, Jiao Qu, Ying Lu

Journal of Electrochemistry

To study the optimal removal condition, adsorption mechanism and comparative analysis of the three typical cationic pollutants, i.e., Zn(II), anionic pollutant Cr(VI) and molecular pollutant sulfamethoxazole (SMX), using self-made upflowed electro-sorption device for adsorptions of above three pollutants by modified activated carbon fiber were researched. The activated carbon fiber (ACF) was modified by hydrochloric acid. The ACF morphology and structure before and after modification were characterized by SEM, BET and FTIR. The characterization results show that the modified ACF had fewer surface impurities than the modified surface and the gully is more obvious, the specific surface area was increased by …

Electrochemical Sensor Based On Magnetic Electrode Modified With Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Nanoparticles Immobilized Hemoglobin For Determination Of Hydrogen Peroxide, Yang Yuan, Jia-Xin Wang, Yu-Hua Cao

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this work, the surface-imprinted technique was used to prepare magnetic hemoglobin (Hb) imprinted nanoparticles, using Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ NPs as the carrier, Hb as the template molecule, and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as the imprinted polymer monomer. The nanoparticles had a core-shell structure, with magnetic Fe₃O₄ NPs as the core and Hb imprinted polymers as the shell. Therefore, Hb could be concentrated and fixed on the surface of the magnetic imprinted nanoparticles (MMIPs NPs). Furthermore, MMIPs NPs were immobilized with chitosan (CS) on the surface of a magnetic electrode to constitute Hb enzyme-like biosensor …

Ionic Liquid Assisted Synthesis Of Porous Carbons From Rice Husk For Supercapacitors, Han-Fang Zhang, Feng Wei, Jian Sun, Meng-Ying Jing, Xiao-Jun He

Journal of Electrochemistry

It is still a challenge to prepare carbon materials with high specific surface area at low cost from renewable resources. Herein, the authors report an efficient approach to synthesize porous carbons (PCs) from rice husk with ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIMPF₆)) as a template and an activation agent. The as-made PCs featured the high specific surface area up to 1438 m²·g^-1. As electrodes for supercapacitors, PCs showed a high specific capacitance of 256 F·g^-1 at 0.05 A·g^-1 in 6 mol·L^-1 KOH aqueous electrolyte and a good rate performance of 211 F·g …

An Aptasensor Based On Aunps/Pani/Tnts Nanocomposite For Electrochemical Detection Of Tobramycin, Yong-Ling Nong, Ni-Na Qiao, Ying Liang

Journal of Electrochemistry

A novel well-constructed electrochemical aptamer-based sensor for the detection of tobramycin was presented, using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) as a detection technique and methylene blue（MB） as an electrochemical indicator. A glassy carbon electrode modified with a nanocomposite of Au nanoparticles/polyaniline/titania nanotubes (AuNPs/PANI/TNTs) was constructed as the electrode scaffold. The nanocomposite was characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in detail. The results of cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance measurements demonstrated that the AuNPs/PANI/TNTs nanocomposites can improve greatly the electron transfer on the interface. For the detection of tobramycin, the DPV results showed a linear relationship between the current …

Zif-67-Derived Ag/Co-Embedded N-Enriched Mesoporous Carbon For Oxygen Reduction Reaction, Zheng-Ling Di, Jing Zhu, Lei Dai, Wei Meng, Yue-Hua Li, Zhang-Xing He, Ling Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Nitrogen-doped porous carbon materials are considered as one of the most promising catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Herein, in order to further improve the activity of the nitrogen-doped porous carbon, Ag/Co bimetal is embedded into nitrogendoped porous carbon to form Ag/Co-embedded nitrogen-doped porous carbon material (AgCo@NC). The AgCo@NC was derived by the wet impregnation of Ag+ into ZIF-67 precursor, followed by chemical reduction and a subsequent pyrolysis process under Ar atmosphere at different temperatures (500 ℃, 600 ℃, 700 ℃). The morphologic characterization shows that the Ag/Co nanoparticles were successfully embedded in the mesoporous carbon framework with abundant nitrogen …

Electrochemical Properties Of Sulfur In Different Carbon Support Materials, Bo Zhang, Jia Liu, Xiao-Chen Liu, De-Jun Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

In order to investigate the effect of carbon structure on electrochemical performance of sulfur/carbon composite in lithium-sulfur battery, in this paper, sublimation sulfur was incorporated into three types of carbon materials, namely, graphene, carbon black and porous carbon. The three sulfur/carbon composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques, and their electrochemical performances were also studied. The results showed that the sulfur/porous carbon composite offered an initial discharge capacity of 1623.2 mA·h·g^-1 and remained 845 mA·h·g^-1 after 100 cycles. Compared with graphene and carbon black, the mesopores and micropores in porous …

Electrochemical Behaviors Of Azopurine On Gold Electrodes, Ming-Xue Li, Hang Shi, Jia Liu, Meng Zhang, Jian-Zhang Zhou, De-Yin Wu, Zhong-Qun Tian

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this paper, we studied the electrochemical behaviors of azopurine on polished gold electrodes with cyclic voltammetry (CV). On the basis of analyzing scan rate and peak current, it was supposed that the redox process belonged to a reversible process controlled by adsorption in 0.2 mol·L^-1 PBS (pH = 4.0 ~ 10.0) solutions. The potentials of redox peaks moved more negatively with increasing pH value. This proved that the H⁺ proton has participcted in the electrochemical reaction. The further data analysis and the calculation of surface adsorption excess demonstrated that the reaction was a two-proton and two-electron process. …

Morphology Controlled Preparations And Electrochemical Properties Of Znco2O4 Electrode Materials For Supercapacitors, Yue-Shen Zhou, Meng Li, Shuang Wu, Zhao-Lei Li, Yan-Min Gao

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this work, hydrothermal reaction and high temperature were used to grow ZnCo₂O₄ active materials on Ni foam. The crystal stuctures and surface morphlogies of four samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrochemical performances were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV)、galvanostatic charge/discharge (GCD) testing and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) on an electrochemical station. It can be seen that active materials tended to form denser stuctures with an increasing amount of NH₄F in the solution system and four different morphologies of ZnCo₂O …

Evaluation Of The Mechanisms And Effectiveness Of Nano-Hydroxides, Wood And Dairy Manure-Derived Biochars To Remove Fluoride And Heavy Metals From Water, Anna Rose Wallace, Wenjie Sun Dr, Chunming Su Dr

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

The development of effective treatment processes for the removal contaminants, such as fluoride and heavy metals, from polluted water have been urgently needed due to serious environmental health and safety concerns. In this dissertation, a variety of materials including various (hydro)oxide nanomaterials, biochars and surface modified biochar were studied to evaluate their effectiveness and mechanism on removing fluoride or mixed heavy metals from water.

In the Chapter 2, this study investigated the adsorptive removal of fluoride from water using various (hydro)oxide nanomaterials, focusing on ferrihydrite, hydroxyapatite (HAP) and brucite, which have the potential to be used as sorbents for surface …

Instrumentation For Dynamic Nuclear Polarization And Application Of Electron Decoupling For Electron Relaxation Measurement, Nicholas Howard Alaniva

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dynamic nuclear polarization nuclear magnetic resonance (DNP NMR) exploits internal electron spin and nuclear spin interactions to increase sensitivity and uncover valuable information regarding structure and dynamics of a system. To manipulate these interactions, instrumentation is developed to combine high-power microwave and radiofrequency irradiation with the ability to spin samples at the magic angle (MAS) at temperatures from 90 K to 4.2 K. Electron decoupling uses frequency-modulated microwaves to mitigate the electron-nuclear dipolar interaction, improving signal intensity and resolution in DNP NMR experiments. Electron decoupling is combined with short DNP periods to encode electron spin information in polarized nuclear signal. …

Top-Down And Bottom-Up Fabrication Of Key Components In Miniature Energy Storage Devices, Wenhao Li

Doctoral Dissertations

The advent of miniature electronic devices demands power sources of commensurate form factors. This spurs the research of micro energy storage devices, e.g., 3D microbatteries. A 3D microbattery contains nonplanar microelectrodes with high aspect ratio and high surface area, separated by a nanoscale electrolyte. The device takes up a total volume as small as 10 mm³, allowing it to serve on a chip and to provide power in-situ. The marriage of nanotechnology and electrochemical energy storage makes microbattery research a fascinating field with both scientific excitement and application prospect. However, successful fabrication of well-functioned key components …

Preparations And Electrochemical Properties Of Co@Nc Nanocomposites Based On Zif-67, Xiao-Li Tan, Deng-Hong He, Xing-Wang Zhang

Journal of Electrochemistry

It is necessary to develop an inexpensive catalyst for the replacement of precious metal catalysts (such as RuO₂, IrO₂). In this article, the metal organic framework ZIF-67 was synthesized by solvothermal method at room temperature, and then the high temperature carbonization was used to prepare the nitrogen-doped carbon-based composite material Co@NC with the Co nanoparticle inside. The effects of the carbonization temperature on surface morphology, chemcial composition and electrocatalytic property were investigated. Most importantly, the Co@NC catalyst with the best morphology and structure was synthesized, and its catalytic activity and stability toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) …

Influences Of Morphology And Nitrogen Doping On The Electrocatalytic Characteristics For Oxygen Reduction Reaction Of Nio/Rgo, Dong Liang, Heng-Yi Fang, Shuo Yao, Jie-Mei Yu, Zhao-Liang Zhang, Zhan-Kun Jiang, Xue-Ping Gao, Tai-Zhong Huang

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this research, the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) supported sheet-like NiO (NiO/rGO) and spherical-like NiO (NiO/N-rGO) catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) were prepared. The structures, morphologies and chemical states of the two catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrochemical catalytic performance of the two catalysts for ORR were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), Tafel, linear sweeping voltammetry (LSV), rotating disc electrode (RDE) and rotating ring disc electrode (RRDE) tests. Electrochemical results showed that the current density and onset potential (about 0.89 V) …

Investigations In Electrochemical Thermodynamic And Kinetic Properties Of As-Cast And As-Quenched Cemg10Ni2 Hydrogen Storage Alloys, Feng Hu, Li-Rong Luo, Yong-Zhi Li, Ting-Ting Zhai, Xin Zhao, Yang-Huan Zhang

Journal of Electrochemistry

In order to improve the electrochemical hydrogen storage properties of CeMg₁₀Ni₂ alloy, the rapid quenching technology was used to prepare CeMg₁₀Ni₂ alloys with nano-crystalline and amorphous structure. The microstructures of as-cast and as-spinning sample were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrochemical hydrogen storage properties were investigated by an automatic galvanostatic charging/discharging, high rate discharging (HRD), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization techniques. The results revealed that the as-cast alloy was composed of multiphase structures. The as-quenched alloys were made up of nano-crystalline and/or amorphous structures, and the …

Special Issue: Electrocatalysis And Fuel Cells, Shuangyin Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Around electrocatalysis and fuel cell, this album contains 7 research papers and reviews written by these teams with rich accumulation and influence in related research fields. This album partly reflects the research progress in the design, synthesis and performance of electrocatalysts in China. With the publication of this special issue, it is hoped that readers will have a better understanding of the current research situation in this field in China. To promote the further development of electrocatalytic chemistry and new fuel cell research in China.

Three-Dimensional Porous Vn Octahedron Catalyst With High Electrocatalytic Efficiency Toward Hydrogen Evolution Reaction, Can Yin, Wei-Wei Fu, Ling Fang, Shi-Li You, Hui-Juan Zhang, Yu Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

With the rapid development of China’s economy, the demand for energy is increasing, and environmental problems are becoming more and more serious. The development and utilization of highly-clean new energy fuel can effectively alleviate the energy crisis and environmental pollution. Nowadays, exploring high-efficiency, environment-friendly and low-cost catalysts remains the focus of research in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this research, firstly, we proposed a three-dimensional porous vanadium nitride (VN) with octahedral structure, which was prepared by a calcination treatment method. The VN catalyst showed a good electrocatalytic activity toward HER, involving a small overpotential of 94.0 mV at -10 …

A Facile Route To Synthesize Pt-Wo3 Nanosheets With Enhanced Electrochemical Performance For Her, Peng-Jie Jiang, Yi Lv, Chang-Miao Chen, Hong-Cheng He, Yong Cai, Ming Zhang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Platinum-tungsten trioxide (Pt-WO₃) nanosheets were synthesized on nickel foams (NFs) directly. As great conductive networks, NFs substrates could greatly improve the electrode performance of WO₃. The modified platinum nanoparticles not only enhanced the electron transformation of catalysts, but also increased the active sites for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Pt-WO₃/NF revealed a better catalytic activity than WO₃/NFs with a smaller Tafel slope (80 mV·dec^-1) and a lower overpotential of 72 mV at the current density of 10 mA·cm^-2. In addition, Pt-WO₃/NF showed great durability and stability during …

Nickel Selenide Derived From [Ni(En)3](Seo3) Complex For Efficient Electrocatalytic Overall Water Splitting, Dan-Dan Chen, Xue-Qing Gao, Hong-Fei Liu, Wei Zhang, Rui Cao

Journal of Electrochemistry

Electrocatalytic water splitting is considered as a promising technology for renewable energy. The development of efficient, stable, cost-effective, and bifunctional catalysts for both water reduction and oxidation has continued to face significant challenges. Herein, we report a robust and highly active nickel selenide (NiSe) spheres grown on carbon cloth (CC) by electrodeposition from a nickel selenite complex which is a single source containing both Ni and Se. A combination of two chemicals containing, separately, Ni and Se is used in traditional preparations of metal selenides, causing possible problems in the uniformity of the products. The as-prepared NiSe-EA/CC electrode exhibited electrocatalytic …

Progress In Solar Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production, Zhi Wu, Lan Sun, Chang-Jian Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

With the rapid development of human society and dramatically consumption of traditional energy, energy shortage and environmental pollution have become an important factor restricting the sustainable development of human society. At present, the development of clean and environmentally friendly renewable energy system has drawn much attention and becomes an important priority stratagem in the world. In many green and sustainable new energy projects, semiconductor-based photocatalytic hydrogen production technology which utilizes the available clean and renewable solar energy to prepare clean hydrogen energy is excepted to solve the crisis of energy shortage and environmental pollution, has become one of the most …

Preparation Of Nanostructural Mno-Porous Graphene Hybrid Material By Thermally-Driven Etching Of Mno For Lithium-Air Batteries, Juan Yang, Jun-Wei Lang, Peng Zhang, Bao Liu

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this paper, improving the surface morphology of graphene(GNSs) as designed concept. we describe a MnO/porous-graphene(MnO-PGNSs) was synthesized by a simple site-localized Mn²⁺ on GO (Mn-GO) by charge adsorption and then driving by high-temperature calcination, growing MnO nanoparticles and etching GNSs achieved on step. And Then focus on the key factors of influenced the etch hole formation are analyzed, founded the dispersion of Mn-GO; layer number of GO and calcination temperature also affected the formation of holes. In addition, the MnO-PGNSs as lithium-air battery cathode exhibits high reversible capacity compared with GNSs and PGNs and it is able to …

Pd Nanoparticles Supported On The Etched Ni Foams As High-Performance Electrocatalysts For Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells, Chi Zhang, Cheng-Fei Li, Gao-Ren Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

The development of non-Pt anode electrocatalysts with high activity and long-term durability at low cost for fuel cells still remains enormous challenge. Here we report the Pd nanoparticles supported on Ni foams etched by the mixed acids (HNO₃+H₂SO₄+H₃PO₄+CH₃COOH) (Pd/ME-NF) that are designed and fabricated as high-performance electrocatalysts for ethanol oxidation in alkaline media. Because of the advantages of large open space, fast electrolyte penetration/diffusion and rapid electron transfer process, the Pd/ME-NF catalysts exhibited significantly improved electrocatalytic activity and durability compared with the commercial Pd/C catalysts.

Novel Avenues Toward Controlling The Photophysical Properties Of Ultra-Small Silicon Quantum Dots, Mohammed Abdelhameed

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Quantum dots (QDs) have attracted an increasing attention in the last decade over many conventional organic dyes. This is due to their unique optical properties including broad absorption spectra, high photostability, and size-tunable photoluminescence (PL). However, some toxicity concerns associated with traditional quantum dots have hindered their wide applicability. Interestingly, silicon quantum dots (SQDs) have been shown to be more advantageous than most of QDs thanks to their excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability, low cytotoxicity, and versatile surface functionalization capability. Thus, SQDs are promising candidates for various biological and biomedical applications such as bioimaging, biosensing, and photodynamic therapy. Unfortunately, only a …

Shape-Controlled Nanoparticles As Effective Catalysts For Proton Exchange Membrane (Pem) Fuel Cells, Ali Feizabadi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), is considered a promising candidate for the next generation power sources in transportation, stationary and portable applications. However, oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), one of the key reactions occurring on PEMFC is kinetically slow; this has limited performance and further advancement in this kind of fuel cells. Thus, improving the PEMFC efficiency requires a thorough understanding of the ORR mechanism on the desired catalyst. To address the above-mentioned demands, the scope of this thesis is focused on the fundamental understanding of facet-controlled nanoparticles, metal-support interactions, and bimetallic platinum catalysts, utilizing synchrotron-based X-ray absorption, X-ray photoelectron …