Pt–Cu nanoctahedra: synthesis and comparative study with nanocubes on their electrochemical catalytic performance

Abstract

Pt–Cu nanoctahedra were successfully synthesized through a simultaneous reduction of platinum(II) acetylacetonate and copper(I)/(II) chloride in the presence of tungsten hexacarbonyl, oleylamine and oleic acid at high temperature. Comparative studies of electrocatalysis on Pt nanocubes, the {111}-terminated Pt–Cu nanoctahedra and {100}-bounded Pt–Cu nanocubes with similar composition and size indicate that the activity of Pt–Cu nanocrystals towards formic acid oxidation is shape-dependent, and is higher than that of Pt nanocubes.