Giving Electrocatalysts an Edge: Platinum (Pt) is an excellent catalyst for the oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells and electrolyzers, but it is too expensive and scarce for widespread deployment, even when dispersed as Pt nanoparticles on carbon electrode supports (Pt/C). Alternatively, Chen et al. (p. 1339 , published online 27 February; see the Perspective by Greer ) made highly active ORR catalysts by dissolving away the interior of rhombic dodecahedral PtNi ₃ nanocrystals to leave Pt-rich Pt ₃ Ni edges. These nanoframe catalysts are durable—remaining active after 10,000 rounds of voltage cycling—and are far more active than Pt/C.

Self-consistent density functional calculations for the adsorption of O and CO, and the dissociation of CO on strained and unstrained Ru(0001) surfaces are used to show how strained metal surfaces have chemical properties that are significantly different from those of unstrained surfaces. Surface reactivity increases with lattice expansion, following a concurrent up-shift of the metal $d$ states. Consequences for the catalytic activity of thin metal overlayers are discussed.