A novel Pt-Co alloy hydrogen anode catalyst with superlative activity, CO-tolerance and robustness.

PtCo nanoparticles, having two atomic layers of stabilized Pt skin, supported on carbon black (Pt2AL-PtCo/C), exhibited superlative mass activity for the CO-tolerant hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR), together with high robustness with respect to air exposure, as a novel anode catalyst in reformate gas-based polymer electrolyte fuel cells. The high area-specific HOR activity and CO tolerance are consistent with DFT calculations.