Single-atom Al precisely modulate the strain of Pt3Co intermetallic for superior oxygen catalytic performance

Precisely controlling the strain of Pt-based intermetallic to ensure high performance and stability is a massive task for sustainable proton-exchange-membrane-fuel-cells. Herein, the Al single-atom was trapped into the L1(2)Pt(3)Co intermetallic core to precisely tailor the strain state on the Pt-skin for fast oxygen reduction reaction kinetics. Theoretical calculations firstly predicted that only tailored tension can accelerate the protonation of O-2 on L1(2)-Pt3Co@Pt without creating an additional energy barrier for subsequent oxygen-containing intermediates desorption. Experimentally, Al single-atom confined in the L1(2)-Pt3Co lattice by substituting partial Co occupancy, imposing tailored similar to 0.2 % tension on Pt-skin compared to the L1(2-)Pt(3)Co. L1(2)-Al-Pt3Co@Pt/C exhibits enhanced mass activity which is ten-time improvement over commercial Pt/C. More significantly, XAS and DFT results reveal that the Al single-atom can strengthen the Pt-Co bonding, enhancing the stability of L1(2)-AlPt3Co@Pt/C in oxygen reduction. This work provides an avenue to design the strain by single-atom for sustainable energy conversion technologies.