PdNi/Ni Nanotubes Assembled by Mesoporous Nanoparticles for Efficient Alkaline Ethanol Oxidation Reaction

Graphical The mesoporous PdNi/Ni nanoparticles assembled nanotubes (mPdNi/Ni NTs) have been synthesized via replacement reaction, in which nickel nanowires serve as sacrificial template to form tubular structure and the diblock copolymer induce the formation of mesoporous structures. Due to the mesoporous nanoparticle structure and tubular geometry, the mPdNi/Ni NTs have better catalytic performance than mesoporous Pd nanotubes and commercial Pd black for ethanol oxidation reaction. The optimization of structure and composition is essential to improve the performance of catalysts. Herein, mesoporous nanoparticles assembled PdNi/Ni nanotubes (mPdNi/Ni NTs) are successfully fabricated using nickel nanowires as sacrificial template. The combination of nanotubular structure with mesoporous nanoparticle morphology can provide facilitated transfer channels and sufficient active sites, allowing the full contact and reaction between catalysts and reactants. Therefore, the synthesized mPdNi/Ni NTs exhibite superior ethanol oxidation performance to mesoporous Pd nanotubes and commercial Pd black. This study proposes a rational strategy for the development of nanoparticle assembled nanotubes with surface mesoporous morphology, which can greatly improve catalytic performance in various electrocatalytic fields.