Surface engineering of hierarchical platinum-cobalt nanowires for efficient electrocatalysis.

ABSTRACT: Despite intense research in past decades, the lack of high-performance catalysts for fuel cell reactions remains a challenge in realizing fuel cell technologies for transportation applications. Here we report a facile strategy for synthesizing hierarchical platinum-cobalt nanowires with high-index, platinum-rich facets and ordered intermetallic structure. These structural features enable unprecedented performance for the oxygen reduction and alcohol oxidation reactions. The specific/mass activities of the platinum-cobalt nanowires for oxygen reduction reaction are 39.6/33.7 times higher than commercial Pt/C catalyst, respectively. Density functional theory simulations reveal that the active threefold hollow sites on the platinum-rich high-index facets provide an additional factor in enhanc

SUBMITTER: Bu L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4931244 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature