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Published on: June 18, 2013
Selenium-Induced Directional Growth of Ultrathin Nanowires with Subnano Amorphous Shells for High-Performance
Biao Zeng1, Shuhan Yang1, Yuzhang Wang1
1State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
ACS Nano
|July 7, 2026
Summary
Selenium-induced platinum-nickel alloy nanowires with amorphous shells show enhanced electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution, methanol, and ethanol oxidation reactions. These novel nanostructures offer improved stability and efficiency for clean energy applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Maximizing atom utilization in electrocatalysis requires advanced nanostructure design.
- Platinum (Pt)-based ultrafine core-shell nanostructures offer a promising avenue for enhanced catalytic performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a synthesis strategy for ultrafine Pt-based core-shell nanostructures with controllable morphologies.
- To investigate the electrocatalytic activity and stability of these novel nanostructures for key energy conversion reactions.
Main Methods:
- Selenium (Se)-induced synthesis of PtNi alloy nanowires with PtNiSex subnano amorphous shells.
- Electrocatalytic testing for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), methanol oxidation reaction (MOR), and ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR).
- In situ Raman spectroscopy and theoretical calculations to elucidate reaction mechanisms.
Main Results:
- PtNi-Se1 nanowires exhibited high mass activity for HER (24.8 A mgPt-1 at -70 mV, pH 14) and excellent stability over 1000 hours.
- Demonstrated strong performance in a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer, achieving 1 A cm-2 at 1.806 V.
- Showcased excellent MOR (9.6 A mgPt-1) and EOR (4.22 A mgPt-1) activities in alkaline media.
- Optimized hydrogen binding energy, lowered activation energy for H2O dissociation, and weakened CO* binding were confirmed.
Conclusions:
- Selenium-induced synthesis is an effective strategy for fabricating highly active and stable Pt-based electrocatalysts.
- The core-shell nanostructures show significant potential for large-scale hydrogen production and efficient oxidation reactions.
- Understanding the role of Pt/Se and Ni sites provides insights for designing next-generation noble metal catalysts.
