Gradient-Concentration Design of Stable Core–Shell Nanostructure for Acidic Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysis

Manipulating the surface structure of electrocatalysts at the atomic level is of primary importance to simultaneously achieve the activity and stability dual-criteria in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Here, a durable acidic ORR electrocatalyst with the “defective-armored” structure of Pt shell and Pt–Ni core nanoparticle decorated on graphene (Pt–Ni@Pt_D/G) using a facile and controllable galvanic replacement reaction to generate gradient distribution of Pt–Ni composition from surface to interior, followed by a partial dealloying approach, leaching the minor nickel atoms on the surface to generate defective Pt skeleton shell, is reported. The Pt–Ni@Pt_D/G catalyst shows impressive performance for ORR in acidic (0.1 m HClO₄) electrolyte, with a high mass activity of threefold higher than that of Pt/C catalyst owing to the tuned electronic structure of locally concave Pt surface sites through synergetic contributions of Pt–Ni core and defective Pt shell. More importantly, the electrochemically active surface areas still retain 96% after 20 000 potential cycles, attributing to the Pt atomic shell acting as the protective “armor” to prevent interior Ni atoms from further dissolution during the long-term operation.