Partially Amorphous Pearl-Chain-Shaped PtTe Nanowires for Robust Fuel Cell Catalysis

Finding active and stable Pt-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is key for the widespread deployment of fuel cells. While amorphous catalysts are renowned for their superior catalytic activity, they often suffer from stability issues. Herein, a new catalytic structure is reported based on pearl-chain-shaped PtTe nanowires with partial amorphism to achieve both high activity and stability for ORR. This catalyst retains its initial mass activity of 90.9% after 150,000 cycles of accelerated durability test (ADT), in contrast to only 31.6% retention for the commercial Pt/C catalyst after 20,000 cycles. Also, it delivers superb fuel cell endurance with only 9.1 mV loss at 0.8 A cm-2 after 30,000 cycles of ADT, surpassing the United States Department of Energy 2025 targets. Mechanistic studies demonstrate that the amorphous structure strengthens the p(Te)-d(Pt) orbital interaction and optimizes the electron distribution, thereby simultaneously improving the ORR stability and activity.