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  • Alloying-realloying enabled...
    Wu, Zhi-Peng; Caracciolo, Dominic T; Maswadeh, Yazan; Wen, Jianguo; Kong, Zhijie; Shan, Shiyao; Vargas, Jorge A; Yan, Shan; Hopkins, Emma; Park, Keonwoo; Sharma, Anju; Ren, Yang; Petkov, Valeri; Wang, Lichang; Zhong, Chuan-Jian

    Nature communications, 02/2021, Letnik: 12, Številka: 1
    Journal Article

    Alloying noble metals with non-noble metals enables high activity while reducing the cost of electrocatalysts in fuel cells. However, under fuel cell operating conditions, state-of-the-art oxygen reduction reaction alloy catalysts either feature high atomic percentages of noble metals (>70%) with limited durability or show poor durability when lower percentages of noble metals (<50%) are used. Here, we demonstrate a highly-durable alloy catalyst derived by alloying PtPd (<50%) with 3d-transition metals (Cu, Ni or Co) in ternary compositions. The origin of the high durability is probed by in-situ/operando high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction coupled with pair distribution function analysis of atomic phase structures and strains, revealing an important role of realloying in the compressively-strained single-phase alloy state despite the occurrence of dealloying. The implication of the finding, a striking departure from previous perceptions of phase-segregated noble metal skin or complete dealloying of non-noble metals, is the fulfilling of the promise of alloy catalysts for mass commercialization of fuel cells.