Pd9Au1@Pt/C core-shell catalyst prepared via Pd9Au1-catalyzed coating for enhanced oxygen reduction

Abstract The scarcity and poor long-term stability of Pt has greatly hindered its commercial application as oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst. In this work, carbon-supported Pd9Au1 alloy particles with a Pd/Au molar ratio of 9:1 synthesized by using an ethylene glycol-based reduction method were used to catalyze ethanol oxidation to coat Pd9Au1 core with Pt atomic layers to synthesize Pd9Au1@Pt/C catalyst. Physical characterization shows that the as-synthesized Pd9Au1@Pt/C catalysts present a well-defined core-shell structure and the surface Pt layers can be well controlled by tuning the amount of Pt precursor added during synthesis. Electrochemical characterization shows that among the synthesized catalysts Pd9Au1@Pt2/C with 2 atomic Pt layers exhibits the best activity and excellent stability for ORR, as evidenced by its even increased half-wave potential after 10000 potential cycles between 0.6 and 1 V in O2-saturated 0.1 M HClO4 solution. This enhanced ORR activity and stability of Pd9Au1@Pt2/C catalyst can be attributed to the compressive strain and stabilizing effect of Pd9Au1 core on Pt shell.