Porous PdAg alloy nanostructures with a concave surface for efficient electrocatalytic methanol oxidation

Nanotechnology. 2021 Jun 11;32(35). doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/ac0471.

Abstract

Tuning the composition and surface structure of the metal nanocrystals offered viable avenues for enhancing catalytic performances. Herein, we report a facile one-pot strategy for the formation of PdAg porous alloy nanostructures (PANs) with a concave surface. Due to their highly open nanostructures and tunable d-band center features, PdAg PANs exhibit superior electrocatalytic activity and long-term durability than Pd nanoparticles (NPs) and Pd/C for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) in alkaline media. Our results provide a feasible and efficient approach for the controlled synthesis of high-performance Pd-based nanomaterials for alkaline MOR.

Keywords: PdAg alloy; concavity; electrocatalysis; methanol oxidation reaction; porous nanostructures.