Truncated Octahedral PtCu Alloy Nanoparticles for Efficient Methanol Electrooxidation

ABSTRACT The pursuit of high‐performance platinum‐based electrocatalysts for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) drives the development of nanostructures with precise architectural control. This work demonstrates a morphology‐controlled synthesis of platinum–copper nano‐truncated octahedra (PtCu NTOs). Comprehensive structural characterization by TEM, HRTEM, and EDX–STEM confirms the uniform octahedral morphology and alloy formation. When evaluated for the MOR in alkaline media, the optimized PtCu NTOs exhibit a 4.8‐fold and 2.3‐fold enhancement in specific activity (13.02 vs. 2.71 mA cm −2 ) and mass activity (1750.67 vs. 746.33 mA mg −1 ), respectively, compared to a commercial Pt/C benchmark. Density functional theory (DFT) simulations is performed to reveal that Cu‐alloyed Pt surfaces lower the activation barrier for the rate‐determining C–H bond cleavage in methanol oxidation, with the enhanced activity correlated to an upshift in the surface Pt d‐band center. Our findings provide a feasible strategy for engineering faceted, alloyed Pt‐based nano‐architectures, guiding the rational design of advanced electrocatalysts.