Uncovering a Kind of Natural Galvanic Cell to Spontaneously Synthesize a Variety of Carbon-Supported Core–Shell Nanoparticles for Efficient Electrocatalysis

Abstract

Here, we uncover a kind of natural galvanic cell to spontaneously synthesize a variety of McMs′/C NPs for efficient electrocatalysis. In these galvanic cells, the negative and positive electrodes are the owned functional groups (e.g., C–O–C, C–OH, COOH, etc.) and supported noble-metal NPs (e. g., Au, Pt, Pd, etc.) of carbon black, and the electrolyte is the solution of shell precursors. Such galvanic cells are capable of spontaneously synthesizing uniform McMs′/C NPs such as AucPts/C, AucPds/C, AucAgs/C, AucRus/C, PtcAgs/C, PdcRus/C, etc. As an example, as-prepared AucPds/C exhibits over 4-fold specific activity in the electrocatalytic ethanol oxidation compared to referenced Pd/C.