Partial leaching effect to Pt decorated Pd-Fe/C nanoparticles for oxygen reduction reaction

A facile route to produce high-performance Pt@Pd-Fe/C oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts are explained in this article. The surface modification of partial leaching of Fe from Pd-Fe nanoparticles followed by Pt decoration using microwave-assisted method has largely enhanced the catalytic performances. Herein, we show that alloying Pd with Fe atoms improves the catalytic activity toward ORR by expending lattices to tune the strain and ligand effect. Further modification by partially leaching Fe atoms from the core surface can increase the active sites, the trace amounts of Pt decorated on the modified Pd-Fe cores improved the ORR activity and stability by controlling the strain effect and ligand effect between Pt, Fe and Pd. Such a special designed structure interacts to give further improved the ORR catalytic performances which is higher than commercial Johnson Matthey Pt/C catalysts, and shed a light of mass production low-cost catalyst.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates a facile route to produce high-performance Pt@Pd-Fe/C catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) by modifying the surface and partially leaching Fe atoms. The improved catalytic activity and stability of the catalyst is achieved by enhancing the strain and ligand effect through alloying Pd with Fe atoms and decorating with trace amounts of Pt. The special designed structure leads to further improved ORR catalytic performances, surpassing commercial Pt/C catalysts, and providing a potential for mass production of low-cost catalysts.