Catalytic Properties of Molybdenum-Modified Platinum Nanoalloys toward Hydrogen Evolution, Oxygen Reduction Reaction, and Methanol Oxidation

Exploring platinum (Pt)-solute nanoparticles (NPs) with multifaceted geometries, multifunctionality, and extended stability is key for several electrocatalytic applications. Here, we demonstrate that Pt-based alloy NPs modified with molybdenum (Mo) exhibit superior electrocatalytic properties compared with pure Pt NPs. Electrocatalytic testing of these Mo-modified Pt nanoalloys shows excellent catalytic performance in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). We show that the catalytic functionalities in the ORR and the MOR achieved by the Mo-modified Pt nanoalloys are 15–25 times greater than the standard commercial Pt/C nanocatalyst. These nanoalloys also show enhanced resistance to poisoning by carbon monoxide (CO) adlayers and stability after accelerated durability tests (ADTs). We associate the origin of these exceptional electrocatalytic performances of the Pt-solute-Mo nanoalloys with their high degree of concavity, variations in vertex chemistry, and Pt enrichment along the corners and edges. Our findings offer a facile synthetic approach for the synthesis of Pt-solute nanoalloys as high-performance multifunctional electrocatalysts.