Optimizing alcohol solvents for the synthesis of PtCo alloy catalysts for high-efficient oxygen reduction reaction

The polyol solvent thermal reduction method holds great promise for synthesizing Pt-based alloy nanoparticles with commercial viability. However, there is a lack of understanding regarding how various alcohols impact the size, shape, and electrocatalytic properties of particles. To bridge this knowledge gap, we systematically investigated the mechanisms behind the effects of four common alcohols on product characteristics using the polyol solvent thermal method. Our efforts led to the successful synthesis of small, uniformly distributed nanoparticles. Notably, the PtCo/C-BA catalyst, synthesized using benzyl alcohol, exhibited exceptional electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). It achieved a remarkable current density of 0.437 A mg⁻¹ and demonstrated minimal mass activity decay after 20,000 cycles. The X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy characterization reveals that the PtCo/C-BA catalyst exhibits a higher proportion of metallic-like valence states for Pt and Co, which favors the ORR process. This work not only deepens our understanding of the synthesis strategy but also establishes a foundation for designing high-performance ORR catalysts.