Dendritic Pt–Au core–shell alloy nanocrystals are prepared facilely on a large scale.
The atomic ratios of Pt to Au in the core and shell are 4:1 and 2:3, respectively.
A simple one-pot successive coreduction method is developed.
Polyinosinic acid is firstly used as a capping agent.
The hybrid crystals display enhanced electrocatalytic performance for MOR.