Au integrated AgPt nanorods for the oxygen reduction reaction in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

The development of new electrode fabrication approaches from highly active electrocatalysts to replace the state-of-the-art Pt/C is most desirable for enhancing power performance and durability in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. However, the deployment of advanced, often shape-controlled Pt alloy electrocatalysts in actual electrodes remains challenging due to their small quantities in preparation and poor power performance in operating fuel cells. In this study, a new electrocatalyst approach is presented for Au integrated one-dimensional AgPt alloy nanorods. The atom arrangement is tuned through precisely controlling the metal ion reduction procedure to improve the catalyst activity. With 5 at% Au, nanorods with an average length of 20 nm and diameter of 3-4 nm are achieved. The test of Au-AgPt nanorods as cathode catalysts shows 1.2-fold higher fuel cell power density than that for commercial Pt/C catalysts, and a lower decline rate of 39.63% than 44.19% after an accelerated degradation test. The development of new electrode fabrication approaches from highly active electrocatalysts to replace the state-of-the-art Pt/C is most desirable for enhancing power performance and durability in proton exchange membrane fuel cells.