Electrocatalytic Activity of Intermetallic Nanocrystals

Intermetallic nanocrystals are emerging as a class of high-performance electrocatalysts owing to their precisely ordered atomic arrangements and well-defined stoichiometries. In contrast to disordered alloys, intermetallic phases feature fixed crystallographic sites for each constituent element, which can be exploited to tune electronic structures, surface adsorption energies and reaction pathways. By adjusting atomic ordering, ligand effects and lattice strain, researchers have achieved marked improvements in reaction rates, selectivity and long-term stability for key processes such as oxygen reduction, hydrogen evolution, carbon dioxide reduction and alcohol oxidation. The interplay between structure and performance is elucidated through a combination of advanced synthetic protocols, in situ characterisation and theoretical modelling, laying the groundwork for rational catalyst design. Practical applications span fuel cells, electrolytic hydrogen generation and CO₂-to-chemical conversion, addressing global challenges in sustainable energy conversion and greenhouse-gas mitigation.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated a general solvothermal route to a family of ordered Bi–Pd intermetallic phases, enabling systematic variation of surface atomic motifs. By employing electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction as a model reaction, this work revealed how distinct Bi–Pd compositions selectively promote formate, carbon monoxide or hydrogen evolution through tailored adsorption affinities for key intermediates. Foundational investigations of platinum–cobalt nanocrystals under in situ annealing have uncovered five discrete stages of surface rearrangement, from random alloying to platinum-skin formation and ordered domain growth, offering a blueprint for post-synthesis tuning of oxygen reduction catalysts. Complementary in situ microscopy under oxygen exposure has further elucidated the counter-intuitive pathway by which Pt₃Co nanoparticles form a conformal platinum shell, guided by energetically favourable segregation and ripening steps, and thereby inform the atomic-scale design of core–shell electrocatalysts.

Electrocatalytic Activity of Intermetallic Nanocrystals publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in electrocatalytic activity of intermetallic nanocrystals across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Intermetallic compound: Ordered crystalline phase of two or more metals with fixed stoichiometry and unique electronic structure.

d-band centre: Energy level of the d-electron band in a transition metal, which correlates with adsorbate binding strength and catalytic activity.

Electrocatalytic selectivity: Tendency of an electrocatalyst to favour formation of a particular product among possible reaction pathways.

Ostwald ripening: Process in which larger particles grow at the expense of smaller ones via atom migration, influencing surface structure.

Mesoporous structure: Solid framework containing pores of 2–50 nm in diameter, offering high surface area and rapid mass transport.

References

1. General synthesis and atomic arrangement identification of ordered Bi–Pd intermetallics with tunable electrocatalytic CO2 reduction selectivity. Nature Communications (2024).
2. Surface faceting and elemental diffusion behaviour at atomic scale for alloy nanoparticles during in situ annealing. Nature Communications (2015).
3. In situ atomic-scale observation of oxygen-driven core-shell formation in Pt3Co nanoparticles. Nature Communications (2017).
4. A General Concurrent Template Strategy for Ordered Mesoporous Intermetallic Nanoparticles with Controllable Catalytic Performance. Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2022).
5. Breaking with the Principles of Coreduction to Form Stoichiometric Intermetallic PdCu Nanoparticles. Small Methods (2022).
6. Unveiling the Growth Mechanism of Ordered‐Phase within Multimetallic Nanoplates. Advanced Science (2024).