Cu2+-Assisted Synthesis of Hexoctahedral Au-Pd Alloy Nanocrystals with High-Index Facets

Controlled syntheses of multicomponent metal nanocrystals (NCs) and high-index surfaces have attracted increasing attention due to the specific physical and chemical properties of such NCs. Taking advantage of copper underpotential deposition as a bridge, hexoctahedral Au-Pd alloy NCs with {hkl} facets exposed were successfully synthesized, while phase separation occurred in the absence of Cu2+ ions. The as-prepared hexoctahedral Au-Pd alloy NCs exhibited very excellent performance in terms of both formic acid electro-oxidation and methanol tolerance due to synergism between the high-index facets and the alloy.