Solid-state chemistry-enabled scalable production of octahedral Pt-Ni alloy electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction.

Although octahedral Pt-Ni alloy nanoparticles possess an excelling property in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and are of great potential as an electrocatalyst for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), mass production of the materials at low cost remains a big challenge. By combining the advantages of both solid-state chemistry and wet synthetic chemistry, we developed one scalable, surfactant-free, and cost-effective method for producing octahedral Pt-Ni alloy nanoparticles on carbon support. The octahedral Pt-Ni samples were prepared with different compositions and studied for the ORR property. They exhibit a much improved reaction activity compared to the commercial catalyst. The experiments demonstrate an innovative strategy for preparing shaped metal nanoparticles and make significant progress in the ORR catalyst research.