Unique Excavated Rhombic Dodecahedral PtCu₃ Alloy Nanocrystals Constructed with Ultrathin Nanosheets of High-Energy {110} Facets

Abstract

Ultrathin crystalline nanosheets give an extremely high surface area of a specific crystal facet with unique physical and chemical properties compared with normal three-dimensionally polyhedral nanocrystals (NCs). However, the ultrathin metal nanosheets tend to curl themselves or assemble with each other sheet by sheet, which may reduce the effective surface area and accordingly the catalytic activity to a great extent. Here we report a facile wet-chemical route that allows the fabrication of novel excavated rhombic dodecahedral (ERD) PtCu3 alloy NCs with ultrathin nanosheets of high-energy {110} facets. The surface area was measured to be 77 m(2) g(-1) by CO stripping, although the particle size is about 50 nm. Electrochemical characterizations showed that the ERD PtCu3 NCs exhibit excellent electrocatalytic performance and high antipoisoning activity in comparison with commercial Pt black and PtCu3 alloy NCs with {111} surfaces.

Effects of the Electrodeposition Time in the Synthesis of Carbon-Supported Pt(Cu) and Pt-Ru(Cu) Core-Shell Electrocatalysts for Polymer Electrolye Fuel Cells

“…In a different synthesis process, novel excavated rhombic dodecahedral PtCu 3 nanocrystals with (110) facets prepared by a wet chemical route, gave about 600 mA mg Pt −1 in the same conditions of potential, sweep rate and electrolyte than the latter [25].…”

“…The most part of the Pt-Cu/C catalysts in which the galvanic exchange has been used, have been prepared starting from Cu/C precursors obtained by chemical reduction of Cu 2+ [24,[26][27][28]30]. They have been mainly applied to methanol [24,28], ethanol [27] and formic acid oxidation [25,30] and oxygen reduction [26] The synthesis of nanoparticle catalysts starting from the electrochemical reduction of Cu 2+ is scarcely found in the literature [18]. There is also an additional interest in studying whether there is a further positive effect in the introduction of Ru deposited species.…”

Multimetallic Mesoporous Spheres Through Surfactant‐Directed Synthesis

“…To enhance catalytic performance in fuel cells, most of the previous studies not only focused on the composition but also concentrated on the nanostructure of catalysts. In particular, Pt‐based multi­metallic architectures such as dendritic core–shell Au@Pt nano­particle,2 polyhedral PtCu 3 alloy,3 hollow Pt–Pd nanocage,4 hollow Pt–Ni nanosphere,5 PtPdTe nanowires,6 and Pt‐on‐Pd 0.85 Bi 0.15 nanowires7 have represented as emerging classes of nanomaterials, showing excellent performances compared with irregular Pt nanoparticles as well as monometallic Pt.…”

RhCu 3D Nanoframe as a Highly Active Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction under Alkaline Condition

“…A great improvement in this area has been feasible with facet‐controlled nanoparticles and core–shell nanoparticles with lattice mismatch, which enables surface‐energy modulations 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. Most notably, phenomenal enhancement in catalytic performance has been accomplished by framework nanostructures with dramatically increased surface area per volume, and a great deal of current interest resides on the design and synthesis of novel nanoframework structures 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. Pt‐based alloy nanoframeworks constitute a majority of nanoframeworks and the application of these nanostructures is mostly confined to the fuel cell electrode oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) 24, 25, 26, 27.…”