In-situ synthesis of palladium-base binary metal oxide nanoparticles with enhanced electrocatalytic activity for ethylene glycol and glycerol oxidation

To achieve the better electrocatalytic activity and stability of Pd-base catalysts for ethylene glycol and glycerol oxidation reactions, a novel Pd-base binary Pd Co oxides nanoparticles (Pd PdO-CoO x ) was synthesized by in-situ oxidation of Pd Co precursor. The strategy was simple, mild, green and efficient. The prepared nanoparticles exhibited a mutually connected, fused irregular nanoparticles in TEM. The as-synthesized Pd PdO-CoO x (1:4) nanoparticles displayed prominent catalytic activity (5.82 A m g Pd − 1 $\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{g}}_{\mathrm{Pd}}^{\mathrm{-}1}$ for ethylene glycol and 5.16 A m g Pd − 1 $\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{g}}_{\mathrm{Pd}}^{\mathrm{-}1}$ for glycerol) for ethylene glycol and glycerol oxidation reactions in alkaline solution compared to the commercial Pt/C (1.64 A m g Pt − 1 $\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{g}}_{\mathrm{Pt}}^{\mathrm{-}1}$ for ethylene glycol and 1.48 A m g Pt − 1 $\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{g}}_{\mathrm{Pt}}^{\mathrm{-}1}$ for glycerol) catalyst. The improved electrocatalytic activity of Pd PdO-CoO x catalyst mainly ascribes to the producing Strong Metal-Support Interactions (SMSI) between PdO-CoO x and Pd nanoparticles, the synergistic effect between PdO and CoO x and the presence of CoO x promoved hydroxyl adsorption at lower potentials. Combined with the simple synthetic method, lower cost and good performance, Pd PdO-CoO x is a promising catalyst for direct fuel cells.