Surface-structure tailoring of ultrafine PtCu nanowires for enhanced electrooxidation of alcohols

Surface tailoring of Pt-based nanocatalysts is an effective pathway to promote their electrocatalytic performance and multifunctionality. Here, we report two kinds of one-dimensional (1D) ultrafine PtCu nanowires (smooth surface & rugged surface) synthesized via a wet chemical method and their distinct catalytic performances in electro-oxidation of alcohols. The alloyed PtCu nanowires having rough surfaces with atomic steps exhibit superior catalytic activity toward multiple electrochemical reactions compared with the smooth counterpart. Density functional theory simulations show the excellent reactivity of rugged PtCu na-nowires and attribute it to the surface synergetic Pt-Cu site which accounts for the promotion of water dissociation and the dehydrogenation of the carboxyl intermediate. The current study provides an insight into reasonable design of alloy nanocatalysts in energy-related electrocatalytic systems.

Automated summary

The study presents two types of ultrafine PtCu nanowires with different surface morphologies, and shows that the alloyed nanowires with rough surfaces exhibit superior catalytic activity due to the synergistic effect of Pt-Cu sites on the surface. This insight into alloy nanocatalyst design provides valuable information for energy-related electrocatalytic systems.