Activating Inert Surface Pt Single Atoms via Subsurface Doping for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

The performance of single-atom catalysts strongly depends on their particular coordination environments in the near-surface region. Herein, we discover that engineering extra Pt single atoms in the subsurface (Ptsubsurf) can significantly enhance the catalytic efficiency of surface Pt single atoms toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). We experimentally and theoretically investigated the effects of the Ptsubsurf single atoms implanted in different positions of the subsurface of Co particles. The local environments and catalytic properties of surface Pt1 are highly tunable via Ptsubsurf doping. Specifically, the obtained Pt1@Co/NC catalyst displays a remarkable performance for ORR, achieving mass activity of 4.2 mA μgPt–1 (28 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C) at 0.9 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in 0.1 M HClO4 solution with high stability over 30000 cycles.