Carbon Monoxide‐Templated Synthesis of Coral‐Like Clean PtPd Nanochains as Efficient Oxygen Reduction Catalyst

Coral‐like, clean PtPd bimetallic nanochains with controlled composition are successfully synthesized by using carbon monoxide as reducing agent and soft‐template. The Pt 74 Pd 26 nanochain catalyst exhibits a much more positive half‐wave potential than pure Pt nanochains (∼35 mV) and commercial Pt/C (∼30 mV) toward the oxygen reduction reaction. Meanwhile, oxygen reduction on the Pt 74 Pd 26 electrode has only a 4 mV degradation in half‐wave potential over 5,000 cycling period, showing superior electrochemical stability. The enhanced performance could be due to the modified electronic structure (such as downshifted d‐band center and weakened bonding to oxygenated species) and the coral‐like nanochains with mesoporous structure and clean surface. This work may demonstrate a universal approach to facilitate screening of high‐efficiency catalysts for broad energy conversion/storage systems and sensing devices.