Ternary PtNiCu self-assembled nanocubes for plasmon-enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution and methanol oxidation reaction in visible light

Abstract The strong interaction among metal components results in the change of the electronic structure (e.g. d-band energy level) of noble metal-based alloy structures which enables the increase of catalytic activity. In this paper, self-assembled ternary PtNiCu and binary PtCu alloy nanocubes are synthesized by a one-pot high-temperature chemical reduction method. The growth mechanism of the alloy is investigated. The alloy is applied to visible light-assisted electrocatalytic hydrogen production and methanol oxidation. The ternary PtNiCu alloy exhibits superior catalytic performance (a minimum over potential of 15 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2, a Tafel slope of 24.1 mV/dec, and more excellent mass specific activity under visible light irradiation about 3.3 A mgPt−1), because of its regular morphology, more surface active sites, and more intense interaction between metal elements. Especially the localized surface plasmon resonance effect of Cu largely increases the electron density (photoelectric effect) on Pt under illumination, thereby further improves the photo-assisted hydrogen production and methanol catalytic oxidation performance. The results will promote efficient and accurate electrocatalysis process, paving new way for a brighter further in rational design of ternary plasmonic electrocatalysts and photoelectrocatalysis field.