Pd nanoparticles modified NiZn binary metal oxides catalysts for efficient ethylene glycol oxidation

The development of high-performance Pd-based composite catalysts is of great significance for the advancement of direct ethylene glycol fuel cells. In this work, we prepared a Pd/Ni x Zn 1- x O-C catalyst for the ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR). The porous flocculent structure and large specific surface area of Ni x Zn 1- x O provide abundant adsorption sites for Pd nanoparticles, which reduces their sizes and improves their dispersion. In addition, the Ni x Zn 1- x O offers additional active sites for EGOR. The Pd/Ni x Zn 1- x O-C catalyst exhibits excellent EGOR performance. The mass activity of Pd/Ni x Zn 1- x O-C is 6004.0 mA mg −1 Pd , which is 6.3 times higher than that of commercial Pd/C. The structural studies prove the successful construction of hetero-interfaces between Pd and Ni x Zn 1- x O, which effectively modulates the electronic structure of Pd. The excellent catalytic performance is mainly attributed to (i) the synergistic effect between Pd and Ni x Zn 1- x O, (ii) improved utilization efficiency of Pd nanoparticles, and (iii) the large specific surface area of Ni x Zn 1- x O. The work thus provides valuable insights for the development of high-performance Pd-based composite EGOR catalysts.