The Promoting Effect of MxOy(M = Zr, Ti, Co, Ni) to 3D Nanoporous Pd for Ethanol Electrooxidation

Abstract

In this work, a series of three dimensions nanoporous Pd/MxOy ([Formula: see text], Ti, Co, Ni) composites are directly prepared by a simple dealloying method, their electrocatalytic performances are investigated. The structure analysis results show that the pores size of the composites is distinctly reduced, and their specific surface area is obviously increased compared with the nanoporous Pd when adding MxOy. As an anode catalyst, these three-dimensional (3D) nanoporous Pd/MxOy composites exhibit remarkable electrocatalytic performance (activity and stability) than that of the nanoporous Pd for ethanol electrooxidation, the order of the performance is as follows: Pd/NiO [Formula: see text] Pd/Co2O3 s [Formula: see text] Pd/TiO2 s [Formula: see text] Pd/ZrO[Formula: see text] Pd. Among the composites, the nanoporous Pd/NiO composite shows the best performance, which is approximately 3.6 times that of the single nanoporous Pd. The performance improvement of the composites for the ethanol oxidation is attributed to the structure optimization, interfacial electronic effect and dual functional mechanism between Pd and MxOy.