Ultrathin branched PtFe and PtRuFe nanodendrites with enhanced electrocatalytic activity

Abstract

PtFe and PtRuFe nanodendrites with highly branched structure were obtained through a facile one-pot strategy. Time dependent experiments revealed that the kinetic control of the reduction process of the metal precursors played a key role in the formation of such open porous structure. Owing to its ultrathin branches, open porous but interconnected structure and synergetic effect of multicomponents, the PtRuFe nanodendrite turned out to be a high-performance electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation. It has been demonstrated that PtRuFe nanodendrites had a methanol oxidation mass activity of 1.14 A mg⁻¹ Pt and a specific activity of 2.03 mA cm⁻², which were far better than those of PtFe and commercial Pt/C catalyst.