Electrocatalytic Activity of Gold Nanoparticles for Oxygen Reduction

Gold nanoparticles exhibit unique electrocatalytic properties for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), a key process in energy conversion devices such as fuel cells and metal–air batteries. Their tunable size, surface morphology and electronic structure enable control over adsorption energies of oxygen intermediates. Smaller particles and defect‐rich structures often display enhanced activity due to increased density of low-coordination sites. Surface modification strategies, including faceting and functional capping layers, can boost selectivity by favouring the four-electron pathway to water over the two-electron pathway to hydrogen peroxide. The high corrosion resistance and chemical stability of gold make it a compelling alternative to platinum while addressing cost and durability concerns. However, the intrinsic activity of bulk gold is modest, prompting efforts to engineer porosity, alloy composition and support interactions. Advances in controlled dealloying, ligand functionalisation and support design have achieved significant improvements in onset potential and current density. Collectively, these developments pave the way for practical deployment of gold-based ORR electrocatalysts in sustainable energy technologies.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Surfactant-assisted dealloying has been used to produce three-dimensional nanoporous gold with tailored surface structures. By controlling surfactant type and dealloying conditions, either {111} or {100} facets are selectively exposed, leading to a marked increase in electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction compared with conventional nanoporous gold. This approach emphasises the role of crystallographic plane engineering in dictating reaction kinetics and offers a scalable route to high-performance gold electrocatalysts.

Uniform deposition of sub-3 nm gold nanoparticles on polymer-wrapped graphene supports has been achieved without capping agents. The resulting clusters exhibit narrow size distributions (1.6–3.3 nm) and an onset potential close to that of platinum benchmarks. These efforts demonstrate that precise control of nanoparticle size and support architecture can unlock high ORR activity on non-platinum materials, highlighting the importance of strong metal–support interactions.

Electrocatalytic Activity of Gold Nanoparticles for Oxygen Reduction publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in electrocatalytic activity of gold nanoparticles for oxygen reduction across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Electrocatalyst: A material that accelerates an electrochemical reaction at an electrode surface.
Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR): The electrochemical conversion of molecular oxygen to water or hydroxide ions.
Nanoporous gold: A gold network containing nanoscale pores that provide high surface area and active sites.
Facet: A specific crystallographic plane on a nanoparticle surface influencing its catalytic properties.
Polyoxometalate (POM): A metal–oxygen cluster compound used to modify surfaces and regulate reaction intermediates.
Nanocluster: A small aggregate of atoms (typically fewer than a few hundred) with distinct quantum and catalytic characteristics.
Onset potential: The electrode potential at which a measurable catalytic current begins for a given reaction.
Specific current density: Current per unit surface area of catalyst, reflecting catalytic efficiency.

References

1. Engineering the internal surfaces of three-dimensional nanoporous catalysts by surfactant-modified dealloying. Nature Communications (2017).
2. Growth and Deposition of Au Nanoclusters on Polymer-wrapped Graphene and Their Oxygen Reduction Activity. Scientific Reports (2016).
3. Boosting Oxygen Reduction Reaction Selectivity in Metal Nanoparticles with Polyoxometalates. Small Methods (2024).
4. Methanol Tolerant Oxygen Reduction Reaction Electrocatalysis using Size‐Specific Triphenylphosphine‐Ligated Gold Nanoclusters. ChemNanoMat (2022).
5. Self-Supported Defect-Rich Au-Based Nanostructures as Robust Bifunctional Catalysts for the Methanol Oxidation Reaction and Oxygen Reduction Reaction in an Alkaline Medium. Nanomaterials (2021).