Surface-structure tailoring of ultrafine PtCu nanowires for enhanced electrooxidation of alcohols

• Published in: Science China materials Vol. 64; no. 3; pp. 601 - 610
• Main Authors: Huang, Liping, Zhang, Wei, Zhong, Yanfei, Li, Peng, Xiang, Dong, Uddin, Waqar, Li, Xiaowu, Wang, Yang-Gang, Yuan, Xiaoyou, Wang, Dingsheng, Zhu, Manzhou
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Science China Press 01-03-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Alcohols; Alloying; Catalytic activity; Chemical reactions; Chemical synthesis; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chemistry/Food Science; Dehydrogenation; Density functional theory; Intermetallic compounds; Materials Science; Nanowires; Oxidation; Ultrafines; alcohol oxidation; surface tailoring; ultrafine; high-index facets; PtCu nanowires
• ISSN: 2095-8226; 2199-4501
• DOI: 10.1007/s40843-020-1469-2

Surface tailoring of Pt-based nanocatalysts is an effective pathway to promote their electrocatalytic performance and multifunctionality. Here, we report two kinds of one-dimensional (1D) ultrafine PtCu nanowires (smooth surface & rugged surface) synthesized
via
a wet chemical method and their distinct catalytic performances in electro-oxidation of alcohols. The alloyed PtCu nanowires having rough surfaces with atomic steps exhibit superior catalytic activity toward multiple electrochemical reactions compared with the smooth counterpart. Density functional theory simulations show the excellent reactivity of rugged PtCu na-nowires and attribute it to the surface synergetic Pt-Cu site which accounts for the promotion of water dissociation and the dehydrogenation of the carboxyl intermediate. The current study provides an insight into reasonable design of alloy nanocatalysts in energy-related electrocatalytic systems.