Surface-modified Pt 1 Ni 1 -Ni(OH) 2 nanoparticles with abundant Pt-Ni(OH) 2 interfaces enhance electrocatalytic properties.

Pt-Based catalysts for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) are highly susceptible to poisoning due to the surface adsorption of reaction intermediates such as CO _ads . Depositing Pt nanoparticles (NPs) on Ni(OH) ₂ to fabricate Pt-Ni(OH) ₂ interfaces is considered as a promising method to improve the stability of Pt-based catalysts because Ni(OH) ₂ could facilitate water dissociation in alkaline electrolytes to form OH adspecies and assist in the oxidative removal of CO _ads on adjacent Pt sites. However, this supported structure rather limited Pt-Ni(OH) ₂ interfaces because only a small fraction of the Pt NP surface could come into contact with Ni(OH) ₂ . Herein, this work has addressed a simple and efficient strategy to engineer novel-structure catalysts by tuning the properties of the interface of Pt-based NPs with high-index facets (HIFs). Pt ₁ Ni ₁ -Ni(OH) ₂ nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized through Ni(OH) ₂ partially covering the HIFs of monodisperse Pt ₁ Ni ₁ concave nanocubes (CNCs) in situ. Pt-Ni(OH) ₂ interfaces were characterized and over 40% of the Pt surface active sites fall within the periphery of Ni(OH) ₂ . Thanks to the synergy of HIFs and abundant Pt-Ni(OH) ₂ interfaces, Pt ₁ Ni ₁ -Ni(OH) ₂ NPs exhibited remarkable catalytic performance towards the MOR in alkaline solution.