Strain-Induced Porous Pd@PdPt Core/Shell Nanocubes as Effective All-in-One Electrocatalysts toward Multialcohol Oxidation

Constructing an appealing architecture is of great significanceto improving the electrocatalytic activity and stability of Pt-basednanocatalysts. In this work, we successfully synthesized porous Pd@PdPtcore/shell nanocrystals via a facile one-pot method,which possess several architectural and compositional advantages,involving porous outer, ultrathin branches, an open mesoporous skeleton,a core/shell structure, and an alloyed composition. These morphologicalfeatures and the synergistic effect between different components inthe alloy endow the Pd@PdPt nanostructures with abundant active sites,effective mass transfer, strain in the particle, and the electroniccoupling effect. The Pd@PdPt nanoalloy therefore exhibits excellentelectrocatalytic performances in alcohol oxidation reactions. Impressively,the Pd5Pt4 nanocubes exhibit a higher mass/specificactivity of 3.225 A mg(Pt+Pd) (-1)/34.49 Am-2 for the ethanol oxidation reaction, which iseven 4.00-/2.39-fold as high as that of commercial Pt/C. Moreover,the Pd5Pt4 nanocubes also show a superior massactivity of 2.824 A mg(Pt+Pd) (-1)/37.66 Am-2 toward the methanol oxidation reaction, whichis up to 4.20/2.40 times that of the commercial Pt/C. The Pd@PdPtalso has enhanced electrocatalytic stability. More importantly, theporous Pt5Pd4 nanocubes still demonstrate superiorelectrocatalytic activities of 0.259, 1.19, 2.65, and 2.76 A mg(Pt+Pd) (-1) for the oxidation of glucose, isopropylalcohol, glycerol, and ethylene glycol, respectively. We thereforebelieve that these universal electrocatalysts have the potential topromote practical applications in fuel cells.