of the particles (with and without oxide). With the iterative transfer factor analysis (IFTA), we followed the relative concentration of the oxide at different potentials. 8
MethodSynthesis of PtPd nanoparticles.-Depending on the particle's type, size, shape, and composition, different methods were used to synthesize PtPd nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous or organic solution. [9][10][11] Inspired by the method of Zhang et al., using galvanic replacement for the synthesis of bimetallic core-shell nanoparticles 12 or PtPd alloy nanocages, 13 the hexachloroplatinic acid (H 2 PtCl 6 ) was replaced by potassium tetrachloroplatinate (K 2 PtCl 4 ), Sigma Aldrich, 98%), which possesses platinum(II) instead of platinum(IV). The particles were prepared in two steps by galvanic replacement: Firstly the synthesis of cubic Pd nanoparticles, followed by the preparation of the core (Pd)-shell (Pt) nanoparticles. The synthesis of the Pd NPs was performed in aqueous solution: 0.6 g of ascorbic acid (AA, Sigma Aldrich, 98%), 3 g of potassium bromide (KBr, Sigma Aldrich, 99%), 1.85 g of potassium chloride (KCl, Sigma Aldrich, 99%), and 1.05 g of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP, Alfa Aesar, 98%) were added to 80 mL of distilled water. The solution was sonicated for 2 min and heated to 80 • C. After 10 min, 30 mL of sodium tetrachloropalladate (Na 2 PtCl 4 , 6.5 × 10 −2 mol L −1 , Sigma Aldrich, 98%) were added with a syringe (1 mL min −1 ). Afterward, the solution was maintained at 80 • C under magnetic stirring for 3.5 h. The PtPd NPs were prepared in a second step: 10 mL of the solution containing Pd nanoparticles were mixed with 70 mL of an aqueous solution composed of 3 g of KBr and 0.333 g of PVP. The solution was heated to 90 • C and 30 mL of K 2 PtCl 4 (3 × 10 −3 mol L −1 , Sigma Aldrich, 98%) were added (1 mL min −1 ) under magnetic stirring. Different times of synthesis were used to study the evolution of the particles: 0.6 h, 2 h, 4 h, 6 h, 8 h, and 17 h. After the synthesis, the particles, collected by centrifugation, were washed and rinsed several times with water and ethanol. Afterwards, the solution containing clean particles was dried in the oven at 70 • C.Coating the particles on carbon powder.-For a sample, composed of 40% particles and 60% of carbon, 40 mg of particles were added to 25 mL of ethylene glycol (VWR), and the mixture was sonicated for 15 min. A mixture of 60 mg of Vulcan XC-72R carbon powder in 25 mL of ethylene glycol at pH 2 (adjusted with