Boosting methanol oxidation reaction with Au@AgPt yolk-shell nanoparticles

Au@AgPt yolk-shell nanoparticles (Y-SNPs) with Au core and porous Ag/Pt alloy shell were prepared via a double-template method. This synthesis employed Au@Ag core-shell nanoparticles as a hard-template to obtain Au@AgPt Y-SNPs by a galvanic replacement reaction between PtCl62− and Ag. Brij-58 surfactant micelles served as a soft-template to prepare dendritic and porous shell. The thus-synthesized Au@AgPt Y-SNPs exhibited enhanced catalytic performance (889 mA mgPt−1) and stability for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) at room temperature, which is 5 times as high as the commercial Pt/C (20 wt% Pt). The enhanced electrocatalytic activity is attributed to following aspects: electronic effect between Pt and Au, synergism between Pt and Ag, and nanoreactor confinement effect in the cavity between the Au core and the shell. The present work provides a simple strategy for the formation of ternary metallic Y-SNPs, which exhibit promising applications in electrocatalysis, energy conversion and sensing.