Efficient Oxygen Reduction Fuel Cell Electrocatalysis on Voltammetrically Dealloyed Pt–Cu–Co Nanoparticles

Getting rid of copper: A class of ternary Pt–Cu–Co electrocatalysts for the reduction of oxygen in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells shows unprecedented activity improvements over state-of-the-art Pt catalysts. The active phase of the catalysts is synthesized by selective electrochemical dissolution (dealloying, see picture) of Cu-rich alloy-particle precursors, resulting in Pt-enriched core–shell particles.