Composition tunable hollow CoAuPdPt nanospheres with enhanced catalytic properties for methanol/ethanol electrooxidation

In this report, the noble-metal-based multicomponent CoAuPdPt hollow nanospheres (MHNs) with adjustable Co/Au/Pd/Pt ratios have been constructed via a simple and reproducible strategy by using Co nanoparticles as the template based on galvanic replacement. All of the resultant CoAuPdPt MHNs show much better catalytic performance for the methanol/ethanol electrooxidation reactions than that of Pt black. For the methanol electrooxidation reaction, Co45Au28Pd57Pt27 MHNs show the highest catalytic activity and best stability. In contrast, Co41Au30Pd28Pt57 MHNs afford the best performance for the ethanol electrooxidation. The remarkable performance of the as-synthesized CoAuPdPt MHNs can be attributed to the hollow nanosphere structure as well as the synergistic effects among the Co, Au, Pd and Pt. Moreover, the catalytic activity of these catalysts can be further optimized by effectively regulating and controlling their element compositions. Hence, this work demonstrates a feasible approach for the fabrication of promising electrocatalysts to be applied in high-performance energy conversion devices and equipments.