Tailoring multi-metallic nanotubes by copper nanowires with platinum and gold via galvanic replacement route for the efficient methanol oxidation reaction

A facile galvanic replacement approach was successfully adopted to design trimetallic CuPtAu nanotubes (NTs) using pre-synthesized Cu nanowires (Cu NWs) as a partial sacrificial template. It was observed that both galvanic replacement reaction and Kirkendall effect played a crucial role for the formation of trimetallic CuPtAu NTs. The morphological studies clearly confirmed that formation of well-defined trimetallic CuPtAu NTs. The prepared trimetallic NTs exhibited remarkable methanol oxidation performance compared to that of commercial Pt/C catalyst. A maximum current density of 1959.67 mA/mg Pt-1 was achieved, which was similar to 4.2 fold higher than commercial Pt/C catalyst. This strategy can be adopted for the synthesis of Pt-based metallic nanotubes for efficient MOR activity. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.