Dealloying of Pt1Bi2 intermetallic toward optimization of electrocatalysis on a Bi-continuous nanoporous core–shell structure

Abstract

Noble metal nanoporous materials hold great potential in the field of catalysis, owing to their high open structures and numerous low coordination surface sites. However, the formation of porous nanoparticles is restricted by particle size. Herein, we utilized a Pt₁Bi₂ intermetallic nanocatalyst to develop a dealloying approach for preparing nanoparticles with a bi-continuous porous and core–shell structure and proposed a mechanism for the formation of pores. The particle size used to form the porous structure can be <10 nm, which enhances the nanocatalyst's performance for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). This study provides a new understanding of the formation of porous materials via a dealloying approach.