While pure platinum is a highly effective catalyst due to its remarkable chemical stability and reactivity, it is also extremely expensive and can suffer from issues like poisoning and sintering. By alloying platinum with other metals, these disadvantages can be mitigated. For example, platinum-cobalt alloys offer improved oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity in fuel cells, while platinum-nickel alloys are known for their high catalytic efficiency in hydrogenation reactions.
