Highly active rGO/Ca-MOF loaded Pd-M (M = Fe, Sb, Pb, Sn, Ag) composite catalysts towards ethylene glycol electrooxidation

The combination of multi-metallic alloys and support materials is a promising approach for the design of electrocatalysts. In this study, Pd-M (M = Fe, Sb, Pb, Sn, Ag) bimetallic alloys embedded composites of 2D Ca-based metal–organic framework (Ca-MOF) nanosheets and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were fabricated by a facile hydrothermal and impregnation reduction method, then applied as ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) electrocatalysts. Remarkably, the forward peak current density of the best catalytic performer PdAg@rGO/Ca-MOF is as high as 258.30 mA cm −2 , which is 9.55 times greater than that of Pd/C. It also exhibits the biggest electrochemical active surface area of 3022.51 m 2 g −1 . After 3600 s chronoamperometry test, the retained current density of PdAg@rGO/Ca-MOF is about 87.94 % of the initial current density. These results imply that bimetallic Pd-M@rGO/Ca-MOF have superior electrocatalytic activity and anti-CO poisoning capacity compared to monometallic and Pd/C for EGOR, especially PdAg@rGO/Ca-MOF. The enhanced EGOR performance is due to the combined effect of Pd-M alloys and folded thin layer wrapped nanosheet rGO/Ca-MOF composites.