Multifunctional Pt3Rh–Co3O4 alloy nanoparticles with Pt-enriched surface and induced synergistic effect for improved performance in ORR, OER, and HER

Engineering high-performance electrocatalysts to improve the kinetics of parallel electrochemical reactions in low-temperature fuel cells, water splitting, and metal-air battery applications is important and inevitable. In this study, by employing a chemical co-reduction method, we developed multifunctional Pt3Rh–Co3O4 alloy with uniformly distributed ultrafine nanoparticles (2–3 nm), supported on carbon. The presence of Co3O4 and the incorporation of Rh led to a strong electronic and ligand effect in the Pt lattice environment, which caused the d-band center of Pt to shift. This shift improved the electrocatalytic performance of Pt3Rh–Co3O4 alloy. When Pt3Rh–Co3O4/C was used to catalyze the oxygen reduction reaction (E1/2: 0.75 V), oxygen evolution reaction (η10: 290 mV), and hydrogen evolution reaction (η10: 55 mV), it showed greater endurance (mass activity loss of only 7%–17%) than Pt–Co3O4/C and Pt/C catalysts up to 5000 potential cycles in perchloric acid. Overall, the as-prepared Pt3Rh–Co3O4/C showed high multifunctional electrocatalytic potency, as demonstrated by typical electrochemical studies, and its physicochemical properties endorse their extended performance for a wide range of energy storage and conversion applications. •Enriched Pt surface Pt3Rh–Co3O4/C catalyst synthesized using co-chemical reduction.•Pt3Rh–Co3O4/C shows fast ORR, OER, and HER kinetics via electronic & ligand effects.•Pt3Rh–Co3O4/C exhibits excellent multifunctional electrocatalytic performance.