N-doped few-layer graphene encapsulated Pt-based bimetallic nanoparticle via solution plasma as an efficient oxygen catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

N-Doped few-layer graphene encapsulated Pt-based bimetallic nanoparticles were successfully synthesized via the solution plasma (SP) method. This synthesis strategy can be achieved in one pot by using only pure dimethylformamide (DMF) as the reaction solution at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The structural analyses exhibited a fine core–shell structured nanoparticle (2–4 nm), which had Pt and Pt-based bimetallic nanoparticles as a core and N-doped few-layer graphene (NFG), having 2–4 layers, as a shell. Pt-based bimetallic cores (i.e., PtAu, PtAg, and PtPd) were varied depending on the metal electrodes used in the SP process. The electrocatalytic activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of the obtained samples in an acidic solution was found to be acceptable, while possessing excellent durability, compared to those of the commercial carbon-supported Pt catalyst. The effective ORR activity was possibly attributed to the synergistic effect of the Pt-based bimetallic core and N-doped graphene shell which contained high amounts of pyridinic-N and quaternary-N. The results in a single fuel cell test expressed the superiority of our SP-derived sample in the fuel cell performances to commercial Pt/C. This study not only proposed potential alternative ORR catalysts with acceptable electrocatalytic activity and high durability but also provided guidelines for the facile synthesis of carbon-based core–shell nanostructured materials with low chemical use via the SP process.