Anti-corrosive tin oxide modified carbon support for platinum nanoparticles enables robust oxygen reduction reaction

The stability of platinum (Pt)-based catalysts supported on carbon black is significantly compromised during the oxygen reduction reaction due to the corrosion susceptibility of disordered carbon domains under highly acidic conditions. In this study, we present a novel tin oxide modified carbon support (C@SnO₂) designed to enhance Pt-based catalytic performance by protecting disordered carbon domains and optimizing electronic metal-support interactions (EMSI). The optimized 1.2-Pt-C@SnO₂ catalyst achieves a remarkable mass activity (MA) of 0.23 A·mg_Pt^-1, surpassing conventional Pt-C catalysts (0.10 A·mg_Pt^-1) by a significant margin. Moreover, the 1.2-Pt-C@SnO₂ catalyst demonstrates exceptional stability, retaining 91.7 % of its MA and experiencing only a 10.3 % loss in electrochemically active surface area after 30,000 cycles (1.0-1.6 V). In situ Raman spectra further reveals that SnO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) effectively stabilize disordered carbon domains within the carbon black, thereby enhancing catalyst stability in acidic media. This method of utilizing SnO₂ NPs to improve carbon supports offers a promising approach to extend the operational lifetime of carbon-supported catalysts under harsh acidic conditions.