Popis: |
Due to their increased surface area to volume ratio and molecular accessibility, microporous and mesoporous materials are a promising strategy to electrocatalyze the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), the key reaction in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). Here, we synthesized and provided atomically resolved pictures of porous hollow PtNi/C nanocatalysts, investigated the elemental distribution of Ni and Pt atoms, measured the Pt lattice contraction, and correlated these observations to their ORR activity. The best porous hollow PtNi/C nanocatalyst achieved 6 and 9-fold enhancement in mass and specific activity for the ORR, respectively over standard solid Pt/C nanocrystallites of the same size. The catalytic enhancement was 4 and 3-fold in mass and specific activity, respectively, over solid PtNi/C nanocrystallites with similar chemical composition, Pt lattice contraction, and crystallite size. Furthermore, 100% of the initial mass activity at E = 0.90 V vs RHE (0.56 A mg–1 Pt) of the be... |