Integrated fabrication through the strong interaction between catalyst and carrier is crucial to realize efficient oxygen electrocatalysis for fuel cells. We report herein a porous Pt-rich alloy encapsulated by graphitic carbon via integration engineering, where a synergistic catalysis between ternary PtCuCo alloy and graphitic Co-N-C results in the optimized reaction pathway and improved oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance. The hybrid catalyst PtCuCo@Co-N-C delivers a mass activity of 1.14 A mgPt -1 at 0.9 V vs. RHE and a peak power density of 960 mW cm-2 in the full-cell assessment, outperforming commercial Pt/C catalyst (0.12 A mgPt -1 and 780 mW cm-2 ). Experimental results combined with theoretical simulations suggest that the mutual assistance between porous Pt alloy and Co-N-C accounts for the enhanced catalytic performance. Such integrated engineering concept is significant for strengthening the anti-corrosion capabilities and improving the ORR performance of Pt-based catalysts.
Keywords: cobalt-nitrogen-carbon; graphitic carbon; integrated construction; oxygen reduction reaction; platinum.
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