The catalytic features of Pt-based advanced materials closely correlate with the compositions, morphology and structure. Hence, interconnected trimetallic PtPbPd ultrathin nanowires (PtPbPd NWs) were synthesized by octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (NP-40)-mediated one-pot aqueous method, using in-situ generated hydrogen bubbles as the dynamic template. It is found that the types of the precursors and the amount of NP-40 are critical in this synthesis. The as-obtained architectures showed remarkable improvement in the electrocatalytic properties for ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), surpassing those of commercial Pt/C (20 wt%), homemade PtPd NWs, PtPb NWs and PdPb NWs. Specifically, the mass activity (MA)/specific activity (SA) of PtPbPd NWs (1.20 A mg(-1)/2.78 mA cm(-2)) is higher than those of Pt/C (0.86 A mg(-1)/1.79 mA cm(-2)) in 0.5 M KOH solution. Furthermore, the as-synthesized catalyst displayed a positive-shift of the onset potential (E-onset, 0.993 V) for ORR over Pt/C (0.895 V) in 0.1 M KOH electrolyte. These scenarios manifest that this approach provides some new valuable guidelines for preparing novel trimetallic nanocatalysts in energy storage and conversion applications. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.