Lattice-Strained Metallic Aerogels as Efficient and Anti-Poisoning Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Lattice strain engineering optimizes the interaction between the catalytic surface and adsorbed molecules. This is done by adjusting the electron and geometric structure of the metal site to achieve high electrochemical performance, but, to date, it has been rarely reported on anti-poisoned oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Herein, lattice-strained Pd@PdBiCo quasi core-shell metallic aerogels (MAs) were designed by "one-pot and two-step" method for anti-poisoned ORR. Pd@PdBiCo MAs/C maintain their original activity (1.034 A mg_Pd ^-1 ) in electrolytes with CH₃ OH and CO at 0.85 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), outperforming the commercial Pd/C (0.156 A mg_Pd ^-1 ), Pd MAs/C (0.351 A mg_Pd ^-1 ), and PdBiCo MAs/C (0.227 A mg_Pd ^-1 ). Moreover, Pd@PdBiCo MAs/C also show high stability and anti-poisoning with negligible activity decay after 8000 cycles in 0.1 m KOH+0.3 m CH₃ OH. These results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, CO stripping, and diffuses reflectance FTIR spectroscopy reveal that the tensile strain and strong interaction between different elements of Pd@PdBiCo MAs/C effectively optimize the electronic structure to promote O₂ adsorption and activation, while suppressing CH₃ OH oxidation and CO adsorption, leading to high ORR activity and anti-poisoning property. This work inspires the rational design of MAs in fuel cells and beyond.