Ce-Doped Pt Nanoclusters Supported on Double-Layered Carbon Nanospheres with Shell-Confinement for Boosting Borohydride Oxidation

Here, we fabricate a Ce-doped small-sized Pt nanocluster supported on a double-layered carbon sphere (DCS) via a vapor-filling strategy for efficient borohydride oxidation reaction (BOR). The incorporation of Ce enhances OH – adsorption and accelerates the dissociation of B–H bonds on Pt, thereby boosting the intrinsic BOR activity. In parallel, the unique dual-shell carbon sphere support enables catalyst loading on both the inner and outer layers, maintaining catalytic stability while confining hydrogen escape to suppress the competing hydrogen evolution reaction effectively. As a result, a direct borohydride fuel cell (DBFC) equipped with a Ce–Pt/DCS anode achieves a high peak power density of 493 mW cm –2 and an open-circuit voltage of 1.77 V. This work offers a valuable insight into the rational design of high-performance anode catalysts for next-generation DBFC.