Controlled synthesis of Pd-Pt alloy hollow nanostructures with enhanced catalytic activities for oxygen reduction

Pd-Pt alloy nanocrystals (NCs) with hollow structures such as nanocages with porous walls and dendritic hollow structures and Pd@Pt core-shell dendritic NCs could be selectively synthesized by a galvanic replacement method with uniform Pd octahedral and cubic NCs as sacrificial templates. Fine control over the degree of galvanic replacement of Pd with Pt allowed the production of Pd-Pt NCs with distinctly different morphologies. The synthesized hollow NCs exhibited considerably enhanced oxygen reduction activities compared to those of Pd@Pt core-shell NCs and a commercial Pt/C catalyst, and their electrocatalytic activities were highly dependent on their morphologies. The Pd-Pt nanocages prepared from octahedral Pd NC templates exhibited the largest improvement in catalytic performance. We expect that the present work will provide a promising strategy for the development of efficient oxygen reduction electrocatalysts and can also be extended to the preparation of other hybrid or hetero-nanostructures with desirable morphologies and functions.