AuPt Alloy Nanowires via Heterogeneous Doping for Enhanced Ethanol Electrooxidation

Abstract

AuPt alloy nanostructures are promising electrocatalyst materials. Herein, the formation of ultrathin AuPt nanowires (NWs) via the heterogeneous doping process were systematically explored. The atomic composition of the AuPt NWs could be adjusted by varying the Pt precursor concentration. The AuPt NWs would bend as the Pt composition reached a certain threshold; and the alloying kinetics also affected the degree of bending. When explored as ethanol oxidation electrocatalysts, the AuPt6.6 NWs with moderate amount of Pt possessed optimized surface electronic structure and morphology, and achieved a mass activity of approximately 3.28 A mgPt⁻¹, together with enhanced stability.