Copper–Palladium Tetrapods with Sharp Tips as a Superior Catalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Abstract

The development of superior non‐Pt catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is highly desirable but still challenging. Herein, we prepared 50‐nm CuPd tetrapods with catalytic performance towards the alkaline ORR that was higher than that of Pd nanoparticles, CuPd nanoparticles, CuPd tetrahedrons, and 7‐nm CuPd tetrapods. The mass activity of 50‐nm CuPd tetrapods was 0.29 A mgPd−1, which was superior to that of commercial Pt/C and most Pd‐based catalysts reported to date. Mechanistic studies revealed that the enhanced performance could be attributed to the synergy of the alloy effect and sharp‐tip effect, both of which enable the accumulation of negative charges on the Pd atoms at the vertices of the tetrapods. The high negative charge density of the Pd atoms at the vertices lowers the Pd d‐band center and, thus, its oxygen adsorption energy. This work provides a pathway to improve the activity of ORR catalysts by modulating their electronic structures, which opens up new sight to design promising non‐Pt catalysts for the ORR.

Ga‐Doped Intermetallic Pd3Pb Nanocubes as a Highly Efficient and Durable Oxygen Reduction Reaction Electrocatalyst

“…Unfortunately, the catalytic properties of these ORR electrocatalysts are far from satisfactory, especially for the durability. On contrast, Pd‐based catalysts have proved to be an attractive alternative for ORR due to their comparable activity with Pt [13–16] . As such, it is highly desirable to design Pd‐based catalysts with excellent catalytic properties and optimal utilization efficiency of Pd for ORR.…”

Facile Synthesis of PdCu Echinus‐Like Nanocrystals as Robust Electrocatalysts for Methanol Oxidation Reaction

“…As a simple and feasible strategy, introducing other metals to construct bimetallic alloy can cut the cost‐consumption simultaneously modify the electronic structure of Pd, in favor of promoting their electrocatalytic activity . Among multifarious bimetallic alloys reported previously, PdCu alloy have drawn considerable attention on account of the advantages of Cu such as sufficient reserves and low price . For instance, the bimetallic Pd 4 Cu 1 nanosheets alloy reported by Fan's group display higher electrocatalytic activity and resistance toward CO‐poisoning than monometallic Pd nanosheets.…”

“…[16,17] Amongm ultifariousb imetallic alloys reportedp reviously,P dCu alloy have drawn considerable attention on account of the advantages of Cu such as sufficient reserves and low price. [18,19] For instance, the bimetallic Pd 4 Cu 1 nanosheets alloy reported by Fan's group display highere lectrocatalytic activity and resistance towardC O-poisoning than monometallic Pd nanosheets. According to the DFT calculation and XPS analysis, the electronic structures of Pd were modulated by introducing Cu.…”

Rh‐Based Nanocatalysts for Heterogeneous Reactions

“…However, the scarce abundance in the earth's crust and high cost limited the large‐scale and economical utilization . To this end, great efforts have been devoted to developing strategies to reduce the consumption of noble metals ,. For instance, boosting the specific activity of the nanocatalysts by shaping the exposed facets or tuning the surface strain are considered promising ways .…”