Seeded growth of PdPtAg-on-Au heterogeneous nanoplates for efficient methanol oxidation Reaction: Interface engineering in quaternary metallic electrocatalysts

Abstract

Interface engineering plays a critical role in the development of high-efficient fuel cell catalysts, as the interfaces across different components can synergistically and substantially accelerate electrocatalysis kinetics, together with improvement in mass transfer and structural stability. In this study, we report a feasible strategy to create PdPtAg-on-Au heterogenous nanoplates (PdPtAg-on-Au HNPs) and validate their structural advantages in electrocatalysis. By limiting the doping of Au nanoplates with Pt/Ag atoms on the surface and subsequently depositing Pd nanodots in a highly scattered pattern, abundant multimetallic interfaces form and enhance the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) electrocatalytic process. The optimized PdPtAg-on-Au HNPs/C electrocatalysts exhibited superior mass activity, improved reaction kinetics, and long-term durability compared to commercial Pt/C. DFT simulations suggest that the chemical surrounding of the Pd/Pt catalytic active center with AuAg atoms can lower the reaction barrier and CO binding affinity. This work provides a feasible synthetic strategy for preparing multimetallic fuel cell electrocatalysts with advanced control over heterogeneous structures, highlighting the potential of interface engineering in the rational design of electrocatalysts.