Synergistic Effects in CNTs-PdAu/Pt Trimetallic Nanoparticles with High Electrocatalytic Activity and Stability

Xin-Lei Cai, Chang-Hai Liu,Jie Liu, Ying Lu, Ya-Nan Zhong, Kai-Qi Nie, Jian-Long Xu, Xu Gao, Xu-Hui Sun, Sui-Dong Wang

Index: 10.1007/s40820-017-0149-1

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Abstract

We present a straightforward physical approach for synthesizing multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs)- PdAu/Pt trimetallic nanoparticles (NPs), which allows predesign and control of the metal compositional ratio by simply adjusting the sputtering targets and conditions. The small-sized CNTs--PdAu/Pt NPs (~3 nm, Pd:Au:Pt ratio of 3:1:2) act as nanocatalysts for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR), showing excellent performance with electrocatalytic peak current of 4.4 A mgPt-1 and high stability over 7000 s. The electrocatalytic activity and stability of the PdAu/Pt trimetallic NPs are much superior to those of the corresponding Pd/Pt and Au/Pt bimetallic NPs, as well as a commercial Pt/C catalyst. Systematic investigation of the microscopic, crystalline, and electronic structure of the PdAu/Pt NPs reveals alloying and charge redistribution in the PdAu/Pt NPs, which are responsible for the promotion of the electrocatalytic performance.