2D Petal-Like PdAg Nanosheets Promote Efficient Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Ethanol and Methanol

Abstract

The development of efficient alcohol electrooxidation catalysts is of vital importance for the commercialization of direct liquid fuel cells. As emerging advanced catalysts, two-dimensional (2D) noble metal nanomaterials have attracted great research attention due to their intrinsic structural advantages. Herein, we reported the synthesis of petal-like PdAg nanosheets (NSs) with ultrathin 2D structure and jagged edge via a facile wet-chemical approach, combing the doping engineering and morphology tuning. Notably, the highly active sites and Pd-Ag composition endowed PdAg NSs with promoted toxicity tolerance and substantially improved the durability toward ethanol/methanol oxidation reaction (EOR/MOR). Moreover, the electronic effect and synergistic effect significantly enhanced the EOR and MOR activities in comparison with Pd NSs and commercial Pd/C. This work provides efficient catalysts for fuel electrooxidations and deep insight into the rational design and fabrication of novel 2D nanoarchitecture.