Core/shell FePd/Pd catalyst with a superior activity to Pt in oxygen reduction reaction

Developing high-efficient non-platinum (Pt) catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is the key to reduce the usage of Pt and the palladium (Pd)-based catalyst is a promising alternative. Here, we presented a facile approach to core/shell FePd/Pd nanoparticle (NP) catalyst with the FePd core in chemically ordered face-centered tetragonal (fct-) structure and the shell in controlled thickness from 0.32 to 0.81 nm via the thermal annealing of FePd NP followed by an electro-anodization process. With a 0.71 nm-thick Pd shell, the fct-FePd/Pd shows a robust catalytic activity and durability for ORR with the mass activities at 0.85 and 0.90 V reaching 453 and 96.7 A/mg(Pd), respectively, which are about 3.0 and 2.1 times higher than those of commercial Pt in alkaline media. This work presents a new class of non-Pt catalyst with superior performance to Pt for ORR catalysis, and the strategy demonstrated here can be extended to design high-efficient catalysts for other chemical reactions.