Enhancing Ethanol Oxidation Reaction Activity of P-Doped CuPdNi Nanocatalyst by Optimizing Surface-Atom Distribution

One kind of phosphorus (P)-doped nanohollow structure (NHs) CuPdNiP catalyst has been synthesized by a facile, green, and low-cost two-step method. The introduction of P element successfully shortens the interatomic distance between Pd and Ni and thus enhances the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) performance in alkaline media compared with homemade and commercial Pd black. The mass activity of CuPdNiP NHs (1191.02 mA mg–1Pd) is almost 5.8 times higher than commercial Pd black catalyst (205.19 mA mg–1Pd). The long-term durability test shows a 7.4% decline of MA, much lower than commercial Pd black (17.1%), demonstrating the excellent EOR stability of CuPdNiP NHs. It is modified surface-atom distribution that promotes the EOR performance, and this kind of synthetic strategy can be applied to design other novel metallic-based catalysts.