AUTHOR=Song Xing , Luo Shuiping , Fan Xiaokun , Tang Min , Zhao Xixia , Chen Wen , Yang Qi , Quan Zewei 

TITLE=Controlled Synthesis of PtNi Hexapods for Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Reaction

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2018.00468

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2018.00468

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=<p>Well-defined PtNi nanocrystals represent one of the most efficient electrocatalysts to boost the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), especially in the shape of octahedrons, nanoframes, and nanowires. However, the synthesis of complex PtNi nanostructure is still a great challenge. Herein, we report a new class of PtNi hexapods with high activity and stability toward ORR. The hexapods are prepared by selective capping and simultaneous corrosion. By controlling the oxidative etching, PtNi polyhedrons and nanoparticles are obtained, respectively. The intriguing hexapods are composed of six nanopods with an average length of 12.5 nm. Due to their sharp tips and three-dimensional (3D) accessible surfaces, the PtNi hexapods show a high mass activity of 0.85 A mg<inline-formula><mml:math id="M1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:msubsup><mml:mrow></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>Pt</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>-</mml:mo><mml:mn>1</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msubsup></mml:math></inline-formula> at 0.9 V vs. RHE, which are 5.4-fold higher than commercial Pt/C, also outperforming PtNi polyhedrons and PtNi nanoparticles. In addition, the mass activity of PtNi hexapods maintains 92.3% even after 10,000 potential cycles.</p>