A simple method for the efficient synthesis of cornered Ag and Ag-Pt nanodisks by using triangular Ag nanoplates as reactants has been developed. The triangular Ag nanoplates are heated and reshaped to spherical nanodisks; in turn, through the introduction of PtCl42- ions, the spherical nanodisks undergo sculpturing and a subsequent displacement reaction to form cornered Ag nanodisks and Ag-Pt nanodisks with pores. The selected-area electron diffraction pattern shows that the cornered Ag nanodisks are composed of two basal Ag (1 1 1) planes, thus indicating the occurrence of selective etching on the spherical nanodisks by this method. The analyses provided by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy and line-scanned energy-dispersive spectroscopy confirm the compositions of these cornered nanodisks and the mixed alloy in the Ag-Pt nanodisks. For the investigation of the practical feasibility of the application of the proposed method, these cornered Ag and Ag-Pt nanodisks were then used as methanol-tolerant electrocatalysts in the alkaline oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Electrochemical measurements were performed using an ultrathin-film rotating ring-disk electrode. The two types of nanodisks are found to have high stabilities and improved activities in 1 M NaOH electrolyte. In the electrolyte with free methanol, the mass activities at -0.1 V (vs. Ag/AgCl; within kinetic control region) in terms of the currents normalized to Ag mass for the Ag nanodisks and Ag-Pt nanodisks are 6.98 x 10(-4) and 2.01 x 10(-3) mA mu g(-1), respectively, which are greater than the value of 2.09 x 10(-4) mA mu g(-1) for Ag nanoparticles. The order in terms of the ORR activity is found to be as follows: cornered Ag-Pt nanodisks > cornered Ag nanodisks > Ag nanoparticles. Additionally, in the presence of methanol, all the cornered nanodisk catalysts experience cathodic currents, indicating that the ORR occurs despite the use of a methanol solution. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.