Alloying‐Induced Synthesis of Amorphous PdZnS Hollow Spheres as Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Catalysts

Abstract

AbstractAmorphous alloys have multiple advantages in electrocatalysis, yet the isotropic nature makes their syntheses a great obstacle in application. In this work, it is shown that the Zn2+ can interfere with the crystallization of Pd‐base structures to form amorphous alloy materials. By simply adjusting the Zn2+ content, unique PdZnS amorphous hollow spheres (AHS) with various compositions and degrees of crystallinity can be obtained through a facile one‐pot wet chemical method. Owing to both the amorphous nature and hollow morphologies, the PdZnS AHSs possess appealing activities and stabilities as oxygen reduction catalysts. Typically, the Pd20ZnS10 AHSs exhibit the highest half‐wave potential (E1/2) of 0.940 V (vs reversible hydrogen electrode), and such E1/2 only negatively shifts 25 mV after 60 000 cycles.