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

       

Hyukbu Kwon(석사과정) / Jongsik Park(박사과정)

Pt-based alloy nanoframes have shown a great potential as electrocatalysts toward 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 inner-lying PtCu dendrite, which shows highly active and stable catalytic performance toward ORR. Remarkably, the PtCu@PtCuNi catalyst exhibited 11 and 16 times higher mass and specific activities than commercial Pt/C.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.7b04097