Constructing Gradient Orbital Coupling to Induce Reactive Metal–Support Interaction in Pt-Carbide Electrocatalysts for Efficient Methanol Oxidation

Reactive metal–support interaction (RMSI) is an emerging way to regulate the catalytic performance for supported metal catalysts. However, the induction of RMSI by the thermal reduction is often accompanied by the encapsulation effect on metals, which limits the mechanism research and applications of RMSI. In this work, a gradient orbital coupling construction strategy was successfully developed to induce RMSI in Pt-carbide system without a reductant, leading to the formation of L12-PtxM-MCy (M = Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, and W) intermetallic electrocatalysts. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest that the gradient coupling of the d(M)-2p(C)-5d(Pt) orbital would induce the electron transfer from M to C covalent bonds to Pt NPs, which facilitates the formation of C vacancy (Cv) and the subsequent M migration (occurrence of RMSI). Moreover, the good correlation between the formation energy of Cv and the onset temperature of RMSI in Pt-MCx systems proves the key role of nonmetallic atomic vacancy formation for inducing RMSI. The developed L12-Pt3Ti-TiC catalyst exhibits excellent acidic methanol oxidation reaction activity, with mass activity of 2.36 A mgPt–1 in half-cell and a peak power density of 187.9 mW mgPt–1 in a direct methanol fuel cell, which is one of the best catalysts ever reported. DFT calculations reveal that L12-Pt3Ti-TiC favorably weakens *CO absorption compared to Pt-TiC due to the change of the absorption site from Pt to Ti, which accounts for the enhanced MOR performance.