%0 Journal Article
%A Hodnik, Nejc
%A Baldizzone, Claudio
%A Polymeros, George
%A Geiger, Simon
%A Grote, Jan-Philipp
%A Cherevko, Serhiy
%A Mingers, Andrea
%A Zeradjanin, Aleksandar
%A Mayrhofer, Karl
%T Platinum recycling going green via induced surface potential alteration enabling fast and efficient dissolution
%J Nature Communications
%V 7
%@ 2041-1723
%C London
%I Nature Publishing Group
%M FZJ-2016-05704
%P 13164 -
%D 2016
%X The recycling of precious metals, for example, platinum, is an essential aspect of sustainability for the modern industry and energy sectors. However, due to its resistance to corrosion, platinum-leaching techniques rely on high reagent consumption and hazardous processes, for example, boiling aqua regia; a mixture of concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acid. Here we demonstrate that complete dissolution of metallic platinum can be achieved by induced surface potential alteration, an ‘electrode-less’ process utilizing alternatively oxidative and reductive gases. This concept for platinum recycling exploits the so-called transient dissolution mechanism, triggered by a repetitive change in platinum surface oxidation state, without using any external electric current or electrodes. The effective performance in non-toxic low-concentrated acid and at room temperature is a strong benefit of this approach, potentially rendering recycling of industrial catalysts, including but not limited to platinum-based systems, more sustainable.
%F PUB:(DE-HGF)16
%9 Journal Article
%U <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000385842600001
%$ pmid:27767178
%R 10.1038/ncomms13164
%U https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/820373