In Situ Assembly of Ultrathin PtRh Nanowires to Graphene Nanosheets as Highly Efficient Electrocatalysts for the Oxidation of Ethanol.

One-dimensional (1D) anisotropic platinum-based nanowires are promising electrocatalysts in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells owing to the inherent structural merits. Herein, we report an in situ growth of ultrathin PtRh nanowires (diameters of 2-3 nm) on graphene nanosheets via the oriented attachment pathway. Mechanistic studies reveal that graphene nanosheets play a critical role in the nucleation and growth of PtRh nanowires. The resulting hybrid of PtRh nanowire decorated graphene nanosheets shows outstanding activity and durability toward ethanol electro-oxidation. It exhibits a specific current density of 2.8 mA cm-2 and a mass-normalized current density of 1 A mg-1 metal, which are 5.4 and 3.1 times those of the state-of-the-art Pt/C catalyst, respectively. After 2000 cyclic tests, it maintains 86% of the initial electrochemically active surface area, which is larger than that of 63% obtained from the Pt/C catalyst. The superior performance is attributed to the combination of the advantageous 1D morphological motif with the synergistic effects of PtRh alloys and graphene nanosheet support.