Dendric nanoarchitectonics of PtRu alloy catalysts for ethylene glycol oxidation and methanol oxidation reactions

Designing and modulating the morphological structure of catalysts is of great significance to improve their catalytic activity and stability. In this work, PtRu alloy nanodendrites with tunable components were constructed by the introduction of Ru. Owing to the presence of electron transfer in the alloy nanocatalysts and their unique nanodendritic structures, Pt0.8Ru0.2 alloy nanocatalysts with optimal composition exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity and stability in ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) and methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). Among the nano-catalysts, mass activities of Pt0.8Ru0.2 nanodendritic catalysts to EGOR and MOR were 6.1 A mg−1 and 4.6 A mg−1, and the specific activities were 11.5 mA cm−2 and 8.68 mA cm−2, respectively, much better than those of commercial Pt/C catalysts. This work provides a strategy for designing efficient PtRu catalysts for fuel cells.