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The design of electrocatalysts with high activity and enhanced durability for the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) is critical for commercializing direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs). Herein, a distinct class of one-dimensional (1D) ultrathin Pt3Sn nanofibers (NFs) with controllable aspect ratios and intermetallic structure was designed as highly efficient EOR electrocatalysts. The optimized structurally ordered Pt3Sn NFs with the largest aspect ratio (Pt3Sn NFs-L) show the highest activity and long-term stability compared with the commercial Pt/C and other counterparts. Apart from the intrinsic structural advantages, the incorporated Sn on Pt3Sn NFs-L can effectively alleviate the binding strength of reaction intermediates and further promote the electrooxidation of intermediates by providing abundant oxophilic species, largely contributing to the enhanced EOR activity and stability. Detailed investigations indicate that Pt3Sn NFs-L possess a strong capacity for C–C bond cleavage in ethanol, leading to enhanced catalytic activity. Moreover, Pt3Sn NFs-L with highlighted antipoisoning property can also display enhanced performance for the ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) and the glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR), demonstrating its promising performance in various alcohol electrooxidation reactions.
Zhu et al. (Thu,) studied this question.