Mastering the surface strain of platinum catalysts for efficient electrocatalysis
Abstract
Platinum (Pt) has found wide use as an electrocatalyst for sustainable energy conversion systems 1-3. The activity of Pt is controlled by its electronic structure (typically, the d-band centre), which depends sensitively on lattice strain 4,5. This dependence can be exploited for catalyst design 4,6-8, and the use of core-shell structures and elastic substrates has resulted in strain-engineered Pt catalysts with drastically improved electrocatalytic performances 7,9-13. However, it is challenging to map in detail the strain-activity correlations in Pt-catalysed conversions, which can involve a number of distinct processes, and to identify the optimal strain modification for specific reactions. Here we show that when ultrathin Pt shells are deposited on palladium-based nanocubes, expansion and shrinkage of the nanocubes through phosphorization and dephosphorization induces strain in the Pt(100) lattice that can be adjusted from -5.1 per cent to 5.9 per cent. We use this strain control to tune the electrocatalytic activity of the Pt shells over a wide range, finding that the strain-activity correlation for the methanol oxidation reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction follows an M-shaped curve and a volcano-shaped curve, respectively. We anticipate that our approach can be used to screen out lattice strain that will optimize the performance of Pt catalysts-and potentially other metal catalysts-for a wide range of reactions.
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Lattice strain in Pt (100) can be continuously modulated from −5.1% to 5.9% through phosphidation and dephosphidation of Pd cores in Pd−Pt core−shell nanocubes.
“lattice strain in Pt (100) can be continuously modulated from −5.1% to 5.9% through phosphidation and dephosphidation of Pd cores in Pd−Pt core−shell nanocubes.28”
From High-Entropy Alloy Aerogels with High-Density Solid–Solid Heterointerfaces for Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution (2026) · cites this paper as [28]
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- Authors
- He, T., Wang, W., Shi, F., Yang, X., Li, X., Wu, J., Yin, Y., & Jin, M.
- Affiliations
- State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering (CN)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- Chongqing University (CN)
- Xi'an Technological University (CN)
- University of California, Riverside (US)
- Corresponding author
- Wu, Jianbo
- Yin, Yadong
- Jin, Mingshang
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2021-10-06
- Volume
- 598
- Issue
- 7879
- Pages
- 76-81
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W3202578456
- Cited by
- 585
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 90 · 2025: 134 · 2024: 166 · 2023: 116 · 2022: 71 · 2021: 7
- FWCI
- 16.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Catalytic Processes in Materials Science
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Fuel Cells and Related Materials
- Keywords
- platinum electrocatalysts, lattice strain engineering, surface strain, phosphorization, dephosphorization, palladium nanocubes, core-shell catalysts, methanol oxidation, hydrogen evolution reaction, Pt(100) surface, d-band center, volcano plot
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