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Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Synthesis of Platinum-nickel Nanowires and Optimization for Oxygen Reduction Performance
Published on: April 27, 2018
Enhanced activity for oxygen reduction reaction on "Pt3Co" nanoparticles: direct evidence of percolated and
Shuo Chen1, Paulo J Ferreira, Wenchao Sheng
1Electrochemical Energy Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Abstract:
Atomically resolved structures and compositions of Pt alloy nanoparticles were obtained using aberration-corrected high-angle dark field imaging, which was correlated to specific ORR activity based on a Pt surface area. The enhanced specific ORR activity (approximately 2 times relative to Pt) of acid-treated "Pt3Co" nanoparticles can be related to composition variations at the atomic scale and the formation of percolated Pt-rich and Pt-poor regions within individual particles. Upon annealing, we show direct evidence of surface Pt sandwich-segregation structures, which correspond to a specific ORR activity approximately 4 times relative to Pt.

