Pt/Co-Au Dumbbell-Like Nanorods for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Performance of Formic Acid Electrooxidation

Pt/Co and Au are organized into well-defined nanostructures by a simple and mild method, such as dumbbell-like nanorods and core–shell nanorods. The resultant dumbbell-like nanorods show a superior performance in the electrooxidation of formic acid, as compared with core–shell nanorods, Pt-tipped gold nanorods, and commercial Pt/C. This result can be attributed to electronic effect between Au and Pt, heteroatom effect of Co, irregular surface at the tips, and the interface effect.