Rapid synthesis of hollow PtPdCu trimetallic octahedrons at room temperature for oxygen reduction reactions in acid media

Abstract

Developing low content platinum catalysts with high efficiency and stable properties for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to substitute fossil fuels is of great significance in electrochemical energy conversion devices. The design and synthesis of multi-metallic nanocrystals with a hollow structure is an attractive route. As far as we know, it is not easy to rapidly synthesize multi-metallic alloys at room temperature with the morphology and structure maintained at the same time. Herein, a new route for the rapid synthesis of hollow PtPdCu trimetallic octahedrons (PtPdCu HTOs) under mild conditions was presented. Benefiting from its hollow structure, porous architecture and trimetallic compositions, PtPdCu HTOs exhibited excellent activity and durability for ORR in acid media when compared with the JM-Pt/C catalyst. They also exhibited competitive advantages over the previously reported Pt-based catalysts.