Promotional effects of bismuth on the formation of platinum - Bismuth nanowires network and the electrocatalytic activity toward ethanol oxidation

Electrocatalytic activities of Pt and their alloys toward small organic molecules oxidation are highly dependent on their morphology, chemical composition, and electronic structure. Here, we report the synthesis of dendrite-like Pt₉₅Bi₅, Pt₈₃Bi₁₇, and Pt₇₆Bi₂₄ nanowires network with a high aspect ratio (up to 68). The electronic structure and heterogeneous crystalline structure have been studied using combined techniques, including aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. Bismuth-oriented attachment growth mechanism has been proposed for the anisotropic growth of Pt/Bi. The electrochemical activities of Pt/Bi nanowires network toward ethanol oxidations have been tested. In particular, the as-made Pt₉₅Bi₅ appears to have superior activity toward ethanol oxidation in comparison with the commercial Pt/C catalyst. The reported promotional effect of Bi on the formation of Pt/Bi and electrochemical activities will be important to design effective catalysts for ethanol fuel cell application.