Stability of nanostructured silver-platinum alloys

The stability of Ag-Pt systems: 13-atoms icosahedral cluster model (Ag13-nPtn) and 54-atoms (111) surface slab model (45Ag9Pt) have been systematically investigated by using Density Functional Theory within the generalized gradient approximation (DFT-GGA). Experimentally tested resistance of AgPt alloy nanoparticles supported on silica to decay upon temperature treatment (423 K-573 K in N-2 flow) have shown to correlate with theoretical results. The stability of the clusters as a function of AgPt composition decreases with increasing content of Pt. The general stability trend of the AgPt alloy was maintained, in theory and experiment, for the Ag/Pt molar ratio of 1.6-5.1. Two particularly stable Ag/Pt compositions were revealed: 1.6 and 0.4. It was also found that surface location of platinum is responsible for stabilization of the Ag-Pt nanostructured alloy. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.