Amorphization-Facilitated Synthesis of Pt 2 Bi 2 /Pt Heterojunction Nanorods for Highly Efficient Methanol Electrooxidation

To address the low atomic efficiency and CO poisoning susceptibility of Pt-based nanomaterials in methanol oxidation reactions (MOR), we develop a facile template-directed approach to heterogeneous Pt 2 Bi 2 /Pt nanorods (Pt 2 Bi 2 /Pt NRs) utilizing Bi 2 S 3 NRs as a template. The formation of Pt 2 Bi 2 /Pt NRs is assisted by surface amorphization of Bi 2 S 3 NRs, facilitating the subsequent Pt deposition and alloying process. Notably, Pt 2 Bi 2 /Pt NRs display a mass activity of 5.13 A mg Pt –1 for MOR, which is over five times higher than that of commercial Pt/C (0.98 A mg Pt –1 ), as well as greatly enhanced stability. In situ infrared spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations indicate that the electronic structure of Pt 2 Bi 2 /Pt NRs could modify the adsorption/desorption of reaction intermediates and facilitate MOR via a CO-free pathway, circumventing the typical CO poisoning observed in conventional Pt-based electrocatalysts. This study provides a synthetic route for rationally designing heterostructured electrocatalysts with superior performance.