Patent ID: 8058204

Claim:
A method of making an electrocatalyst comprising: providing an initial mixture of a first solvent and reducing agent with a compound of a non-noble metal or a non-noble metal alloy; heating the initial mixture to a temperature near a boiling point of the first solvent and reducing agent; reducing the compound to form non-noble metal or non-noble metal alloy particles without a carbon support in the initial mixture; cooling the initial mixture with the particles to a temperature less than near the boiling point of the first solvent and reducing agent; adding a second mixture of a compound of a noble metal or noble metal alloy and a second solvent to the cooled initial mixture with the particles to form a combined mixture; and reducing the compound of the noble metal or noble metal alloy in the combined mixture to the noble metal or noble metal alloy at the cooled temperature to form a continuous shell of the noble metal or noble metal alloy on the particles.