Spontaneous weaving: 3D porous PtCu networks with ultrathin jagged nanowires for highly efficient oxygen reduction reaction

We report a simple and efficient surfactant-free method to prepare 3D porous PtCu networks with ultrathin jagged nanowires and controllable composition. The morphological evolution and the influential effects of the important experimental parameters on the PtCu networks have been systematically studied. Relative to commercial Pt/C and Pt black catalysts, these porous PtCu networks exhibit much better activity and remarkably improved durability towards the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The excellent ORR performance could be attributed to their structural features, including the core-shell nanostructures with a Pt-skin, the 3D porous networks with high surface area, and the ultrathin (3.6 nm) jagged nanowires with plentiful edge/corner atoms. Notably, this method can be facilely extended to obtain PtCuAu trimetallic nanowire networks with high porosity, which exhibits its robustness for preparing novel 3D porous nanostructures with great potential in various catalytic applications.