This award supports cooperative research in amorphous metal alloys as catalysts for fuel cells to be carried out by A.J. Appleby, S. Srinivasan and O.J. Murphy at Texas A&M University, aided by R.B. Schwarz and A. Redondo of Los Alamos National Laboratory, and W.E. Triaca and C. Giordana of the National University of La Plata in Argentina. In addition, the U.S.-Argentina cooperation will be extended to a trilateral effort with Brazil by including E.R. Gonzalez and L.A. Avaca at the University of Sao Paulo. Together, they will investigate the effects of crystalline orientation and morphology on the electrocatalysis of fuel cell reactions. The work will focus on oriented surfaces of platinum as an electrocatalyst for aqueous electrolyte and solid polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Amorphous metallic alloys, a new class of materials with promise as stable catalysts will be prepared and characterized and electrode kinetics will be investigated. A multidisciplinary approach to this work is required, including electrochemistry, surface science, materials science and theoretical chemistry. At Texas A&M, special high-vacuum systems will be used to synthesize the materials, while the electrochemical studies will be pursued in both Argentina and Brazil. In this way the facilities and personnel of all three institutions will contribute to this truly collaborative project.
