Design and Synthesis of Palladium/Black Phosphorus–Graphene Hybrids as High-Performance Catalysts for Ethanol Electrooxidation in Alkaline Media

Abstract

In this study, a series of Pd-supported black phosphorus–graphene (Pd/BP-G) catalysts are prepared to explore their electrocatalytic performances in the electrooxidation of ethanol in alkaline media. The characterization results show that BP is combined with activated graphene to form a P–C bond and a P–O–C bond heterojunction. Pd nanoparticles equally anchor on the BP-G hybrid, and Pd/BP-G exhibited enhanced electrocatalytic activity for the ethanol oxidation reaction in alkaline media. The electrochemically active surface area and mass activity for the Pd/BP-G catalyst reached 210.4 m2 ·gPd –1 and 3960.0 mA·mgPd –1, which are 9.54 and 5.86 times higher than those of commercial Pd/C, respectively. Further studies show that Pd/BP-G catalysts have reliable stabilities and faster reaction kinetics. These results indicate that the prepared Pd/BP-G catalysts have great application potentials in direct ethanol fuel cells.

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes embedded with nitrogen-doped carbon black anchoring Pd nanocrystals to boost ethanol electrooxidation

“…Seeking and engineering superior supporting materials is an effective strategy to rationally design EOR catalysts with both high activity and durability. [12][13][14][15] Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with a specific one-dimensional structure have been widely employed as effective supports for electrocatalysts, due to their high conductivity, large specific surface area, excellent chemical stability and so on. 16 Nevertheless, the performances of CNTs as substrates are still far below expectations on account of the lack of active sites for anchoring noble metals and their proneness to agglomerate caused by the large aspect ratio, van der Waals forces and electrostatic interactions.…”