Au-modified PtCu nanodendrites as a highly stable and active electrocatalyst

Abstract

Direct galvanic replacement of surface Cu with Au³⁺ in PtCu₃ nanodendrites is applied to synthesize an Au-modified PtCu₃ nanodendrite catalyst (PtCu₃–Au), which shows both superior stability and excellent activity for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The PtCu₃–Au catalyst only lost 7% of its MOR activity and its ORR half-wave potential decreased 8 mV after 10 000 potential cycles.