Facile synthesis of PtMn@Pt core-shell nanowires for oxygen reduction reaction

Platinum-based alloy nanowires are often employed in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) due to their exceptional performances. However, most platinum-based alloy nanowires suffer from poor stability in strong acidic electrolytes, as well as their complex preparation methods. Herein, PtMn@Pt core-shell nanowires were successfully prepared by one-step hydrothermal with different concentrations of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and replacement reaction. The results show that the microstructure of nanowires gradually change with the increase of PVP concentration. Meanwhile, the outer layer of the PtMn nanowires contains a Pt-skin of about 1–2 nm. Moreover, the mass activity of the prepared PtMn@Pt core-shell nanowires with 50 mg PVP is 0.409 A mg −1 (@0.9 V), which is 3.86 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C. The as-prepared nanowires display excellent stability mainly due to the existence of Pt-skin. This paper provides a relatively simple method to synthesize Platinum-based core-shell nanowires with outstanding ORR performance.