Ce-Doped Pt Nanoclusters Supported on Double-Layered Carbon Nanospheres with Shell-Confinement for Boosting Borohydride Oxidation

Here, we fabricate a Ce-doped small-sized Pt nanocluster supported on a double-layered carbon sphere (DCS) via a vapor-filling strategy for efficient borohydride oxidation reaction (BOR). The incorporation of Ce enhances OH– adsorption and accelerates the dissociation of B–H bonds on Pt, thereby boosting the intrinsic BOR activity. In parallel, the unique dual-shell carbon sphere support enables catalyst loading on both the inner and outer layers, maintaining catalytic stability while confining hydrogen escape to suppress the competing hydrogen evolution reaction effectively. As a result, a direct borohydride fuel cell (DBFC) equipped with a Ce–Pt/DCS anode achieves a high peak power density of 493 mW cm–2 and an open-circuit voltage of 1.77 V. This work offers a valuable insight into the rational design of high-performance anode catalysts for next-generation DBFC.