Radially Phase Segregated PtCu@PtCuNi Dendrite@Frame Nanocatalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Park, Jongsik; Kanti Kabiraz, Mrinal; Kwon, Hyukbu; Park, Suhyun; Baik, Hionsuck; Choi, Sang-Il; Lee, Kwangyeol · ACS Nano · 2017

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Pt-based alloy nanoframes have shown great potential as electrocatalysts toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells. However, the intrinsically infirm nanoframes could be severely deformed during extended electro-cyclings, which eventually leads to the loss of the initial catalytic activity. Therefore, the structurally robust nanoframe is a worthy synthetic target. Furthermore, ternary alloy phase electrocatalysts offer more opportunities in optimizing the stability and activity than binary alloy ones. Herein, we report a robust PtCuNi ternary nanoframe, structurally fortified with an inner-lying PtCu dendrite, which shows a highly active and stable catalytic performance toward ORR. Remarkably, the PtCu@PtCuNi catalyst exhibited 11 and 16 times higher mass and specific activities than those of commercial Pt/C.