Synergistic Effect of Trimetallic PdCuIn Nanoparticles in Ethanol and Formate Oxidation Reaction for Remarkable Catalytic Performance

Direct liquid fuel cells (DLFC) are regarded as attractive energy devices with their advantages of sustainability and eco-friendly operation. Pd-based materials have been recognized as ideal catalysts for anodic oxidation of DLFC. Although reasonably regulating the structure of Pd-based catalysts to achieve remarkable catalytic performance, it is not clear about the combined effects of d-band center and charge transfer, which are the crucial impactors for catalytic activity. Herein, a facile method to synthesize trimetallic PdCuIn nanoparticles (PdCuIn NPs) for ethanol and formate oxidation reactions (EOR and FOR, respectively) is reported. PdCuIn NPs exhibits bifunctional catalytic activities for both EOR and FOR, with mass activities of 16 000 and 15 500 mA mg Pd −1 , respectively, which are much better than those of commercial Pd/C catalysts. Comparing to the bimetallic nanoparticles (PdCu or PdIn NPs), additional Cu or In enhances the electron transfer and achieves a suitable d-band center, resulting in excellent performance. This work synthesizes a highly active catalyst for both EOR and FOR, but also provides facile strategy of balancing the d-band center and charge transfer for high catalytic performance.