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One-dimensional (1D) PtM (M = Fe, Co, Ni) nanowires (NWs), which represent a thriving class of electrocatalysts for fuel cells, are experiencing a restriction in long-term durability because of the dissolving issue related to transition metals. Utilizing one-dimensional Pt3Co NWs as the basic catalyst model, here we have successfully demonstrated significant improvements in electrocatalytic durability and activity derived from doping of Ga atoms. The optimized surface energy caused by the doping of Ga atoms drives the resulting catalysts to exhibit good durability for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysis. However, although oxygen binding energy (EO) would rather deviate from the optimal value because of excessive Ga on the surface, the formation of proper Ga–O bonding can also promote oxygen binding to approach an optimal value, which results in an enhanced ORR activity. It can be therefore concluded that doping of an appropriate amount of Ga atoms has a positive effect in improving the ORR performance of the catalyst, not only in terms of specific activity but also in durability. This interesting phenomenon was also further extended to improve the catalysis of methanol oxidation (MOR) and ethanol oxidation (EOR) reactions, thus reflecting multifunctionalities of lavender-like Ga-doped Pt3Co NWs on fuel cell reactions. This study highlights the great potential of Ga-doped strategies for surface and near-surface regulation, which can effectively address the poor durability of 1D Pt-based NWs for energy catalytic technology.
Li et al. (Thu,) studied this question.