Pt Atomic Layers with Tensile Strain and Rich Defects Boost Ethanol Electrooxidation

Surface and strain engineering are two effective strategies to improve performance; however, synergetic controls of surface and strain effects remains a grand challenge. Herein, we report a highly efficient and stable electrocatalyst with defect-rich Pt atomic layers coating an ordered Pt3Sn intermetallic core. Pt atomic layers enable the generation of 4.4% tensile strain along the [001] direction. Benefiting from synergetic controls of surface and strain engineering, Pt atomic-layer catalyst (Ptatomic‑layer) achieves a remarkable enhancement on ethanol electrooxidation performance with excellent specific activity of 5.83 mA cm–2 and mass activity of 1166.6 mA mg Pt –1, which is 10.6 and 3.6 times higher than the commercial Pt/C, respectively. Moreover, the intermetallic core endows Ptatomic‑layer with outstanding durability. In situ infrared reflection–absorption spectroscopy as well as density functional theory calculations reveal that tensile strain and rich defects of Ptatomci‑layer facilitate to break C–C bond for complete ethanol oxidation for enhanced performance.