PtM (M = Fe, Co, Ni) alloys as highly efficient catalysts to the oxygen reduction reaction

Platinum-based alloy catalysts have achieved notable progress in oxygen reduction due to their unique electronic structures, but conventional alloying often causes nanoparticle agglomeration and sintering. Here, PtM (M = Fe, Co, Ni) alloys are synthesized using XC-72R carbon black as support. PtFe nanoparticles (∼3.1 nm) are uniformly dispersed and exhibit strong electronic interactions, optimizing the Pt electronic structure. The Pt 2 Fe 1 /C catalyst delivers a half-wave potential of 0.849 V, with mass and specific activities 1.57 and 3.31 times higher than commercial Pt/C, retaining 94.4 % activity over 9 h. It also exhibits excellent hydrogen evolution performance, requiring only 36 mV overpotential at 10 mA cm −2 . Density functional theory indicates that alloying downshifts the Pt d-band center, reducing *OH adsorption energy and enhancing catalytic activity. This work demonstrates a synthesis strategy for stable Pt alloys with superior bifunctional performance in both oxygen reduction and hydrogen evolution reactions.