Hollow Echinus-like PdCuCo Alloy for Superior Efficient Catalysis of Ethanol

Abstract

Large-scale preparation of hollow echinus-like PdCuCo alloy nanostructures (HENSs) with a high surface area-to-volume ratio, rich active sites, and relatively efficient catalytic activity has attracted considerable research interest. Herein, we present an economic and facile approach to synthesize HENSs by galvanic exchange reactions using Co nanospheres as sacrificial templates. Moreover, the catalytic activity could be adjusted via changing the composition of the catalyst. The composition, morphology, and crystal structure of the as-obtained nanomaterials are characterized by various techniques, such as inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Electrochemical catalytic measurement results prove that the PdCuCo catalyst obtained under optimal preparation conditions exhibits 10-fold higher activity for ethanol oxidation in comparison with the commercially available 20% Pd/C catalyst. The eminent performance of the PdCuCo electrochemical catalyst could be ascribed to the peculiar echinus-like nanostructures.

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

“…Numerous straight and long branches with 70–80 nm in length can be found in the nanostructures (Figure c). This kind of novel echinus‐like nanoarchitectures not merely can provide abundant active sites but also accelerate the process of mass and electron exchange, in favor of boosting the activity for MOR . The polycrystalline characteristic of echinus‐like PdCu NCs was verified by selective area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern which was shown in the inset of Figure c. The lattice spacing of PdCu NCs was estimated to be 0.22 nm, which is among Pd (111) plane (0.230 nm) and Cu (111) plane (0.209 nm), demonstrating the successful fabrication of PdCu alloy (Figure d) …”

“…The prepared hollow PdCuCo nanoparticles with echinus‐like nanoarchitectures exhibit eminent electrocatalytic properties toward ethanol oxidation reaction. The mass activity of PdCuCo nanoparticles is almost ten times of commercial Pd/C owing to its novel structure . Hu et al.…”

“…These organic solvents such as oleylamine (OAM), N ‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP), 1‐methylimidazole and N , N ‐dimethylformamide (DMF) are either environmentally hazardous or difficult to remove . And the synthesis of echinus‐like nanoarchitectures by using templates are usually complicated and time‐consuming in operation . Consequently, the facile preparation of Pd‐based echinus‐like nanomaterials with superior electrocatalytic properties is extremely desirable.…”

“…The mass activity of PdCuCo nanoparticles is almost ten times of commercial Pd/C owing to its novel structure. [36] Hu et al prepared the PdCu binary alloy with sea cucumber-like architectures via solvothermalr eactionf or three hours. Benefiting from the peculiar super-branched architectures, the products exhibit splendid catalytic performances for ethylene glycol electro-oxidation.…”

Nanocatalysts for Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Ethanol

“…[169][170][171][172][173][174][175][176][177][178][179][180] As atypicalexample, Xu et al reported af acile approach to construct ternary nanostructures featuring at riple-layered structure with Au in the core, Pd in the inner layer,and Pt-rich clusters in the outermost jagged-surface layers. [169][170][171][172][173][174][175][176][177][178][179][180] As atypicalexample, Xu et al reported af acile approach to construct ternary nanostructures featuring at riple-layered structure with Au in the core, Pd in the inner layer,and Pt-rich clusters in the outermost jagged-surface layers.…”