Capping polymer-enhanced electrocatalytic activity on Pt nanoparticles: a combined electrochemical and in situ IR spectroelectrochemical study.

Unexpected yet highly remarkable and intriguing observations of the polymer-enhanced electro-catalytic activity of the Pt nanoparticles for electro-oxidations of both methanol and formic acid were reported. In situ FTIR investigation suggests strongly that the observed activity enhancements are highly likely due to the PVP-induced additional reaction pathways. These observations may open up a new paradigm of research in which the protecting/stabilizing organic ligands can now be incorporated as an advantageous part and/or a finer catalytic activity tuner of a nanocatalytic system.