Shape-controlled
synthesis of multicomponent metal nanocrystals
(NCs) bounded by high-index facets (HIFs) is of significant importance
in the design and synthesis of highly active catalysts. It is a highly
challenging task to design and synthesize ternary alloy NCs with HIFs
due to the formidable difficulties in controlling the nucleation/growth
kinetics of NCs in the presence of three metal precursors with different
reduction potentials. We report herein, for the first time, the preparation
of Pt–Ni–Cu alloy NCs by tuning their shape from crossed,
dendritic, concave nanocubic (CNC) to rough octahedral (ROH) NCs through
a facile one-pot solvothermal synthesis method. Specifically, the
crossed and CNC Pt–Ni–Cu alloy NCs are bounded by high-index
{hk0} facets and ROH with rich lattice defects. The
electrocatalytic activities of these Pt–Ni–Cu alloy
NCs toward methanol and formic acid oxidation were tested. It was
shown that these Pt–Ni–Cu alloy NCs exhibited enhanced
activity and stability compared to commercial Pt black and Pt/C catalysts
as well as previous Pt–Ni and Pt CNCs under the same reaction
conditions, demonstrating the superior electrocatalytic activity of
Pt–Ni–Cu ternary alloys compared to monometal and binary
Pt–Ni NCs. Surprisingly, we have found that the Pt–Ni–Cu
ROH NCs have exhibited a higher specific catalytic activity than the
crossed and CNC Pt–Ni–Cu alloy NCs with HIFs. The electronic
and structure effects have been extensively discussed to shed light
on the excellent electrocatalytic performance of Pt–Ni–Cu
ROH NCs.
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