Ternary PtPdCo mesoporous nanospheres with superior electrocatalytic performance towards methanol oxidation reaction

Mesoporous metallic nanomaterials possess high surface area and abundant three- dimensional channel structure for efficient transport of reactants, which are attractive for catalysis applications. In this work, we report a ternary PtPdCo mesoporous nanospheres (MNs), developed by a soft template-assisted method, as an efficient electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). The physicochemical characterizations demonstrate that PtPdCo MNs possess abundant mesoporous channels, nanospheres assembly of tiny nanoparticles, and strong interatomic interaction and synergistic effect. Electrochemical test shows that this unique metal alloy brings superior MOR catalytic performance. The mass activity (MA) and specific activity (SA) of PtPdCo MNs are 2.05 A mgPt−1 and 3.31 mA cm−2 respectively, which are 3.87/3.8 times of commercial PtRu/C, 4.27/4.47 times of commercial Pt/C. In addition, the measurements of i-t (3600 s) and ADT (2000 cycles) further revealed the superior durability of the PtPdCo MNs. These results indicate PtPdCo MNs outperform to reported benchmark catalysts and this study represents a novel approach to reducing Pt costs while achieving high MOR performance. •A PtPdCo mesoporous nanospheres (MNs) catalyst was prepared by a facile one-pot method.•CTAC facilitates the formation of small alloy nanoparticles and mesoporous.•The PtPdCo MNs possess abundant 3D channel structure with efficient mass transport.•The PtPdCo MNs demonstrated superior activity and durability towards MOR.