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Updated: Oct 21, 2026
Synthesis of Platinum-nickel Nanowires and Optimization for Oxygen Reduction Performance
Published on: April 27, 2018
Competitive electronic modulation via iron mediation: Stabilizing PtCo sites in alloy for enhanced fuel cell
Bing Liu1, Si Lin1, Yunlong Zhang1
1State Key Laboratory of Space Power-Sources, MIIT Key Laboratory of Critical Materials Technology for New Energy Conversion and Storage, MOE Engineering Research Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Carbon Neutrality in Cold Regions, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China.
Abstract:
Low-platinum cathodic electrocatalysts are urgently demanded for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) deployment with high intrinsic activity and long-term durability. However, conventional binary PtCo alloys suffer from transition-metal leaching and unfavorable intermediate adsorption. Herein, ternary PtCoFe alloy catalysts featuring competitive electronic modulation are synthesized via an impregnation-reduction route (CE-PtCoFe0.5). Density functional theory and experimental characterizations reveal strong intraperiod coordination between Fe and Co, where FeCo 3d orbital hybridization far outweighs cross-period PtCo interaction. Preferential electron redistribution in FeCo modulates Co electron density and reduces Co-to-Pt charge transfer, enabling competitive electronic modulation distinct from main charge migration in PtCo. Such modulation upshifts the Pt d-band center to balance intermediate adsorption and elevates Pt/Co vacancy formation energies, suppressing metal dissolution and structural degradation. The optimized CE-PtCoFe0.5 delivers a high half-wave potential of 0.938 V, an electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) of 122.14 m2 gPt-1, and a mass activity of 0.82 A mgPt-1, exceeding binary PtCo and commercial Pt/C. In PEMFCs tests, it achieves a maximum power density of 2.42 W cm-2 (H2-O2) and 1.68 W cm-2 (H2-air), showing merely 19.4% peak-power decay after 30, 000 accelerated cycles with negligible particle growth and well-preserved lattice features. This work offers a facile and reliable ternary alloying strategy for the rational design of high-stability low-Pt cathodic catalysts toward PEMFCs applications.
