Ethylenediamine tetramethylene phosphonic acid assisted synthesis of palladium nanocubes and their electrocatalysis of formic acid oxidation

Abstract

The synthesis of Pd nanocrystals of controlled size and morphology has drawn enormous interest due to their catalytic activity. We report a new and efficient strategy for the one-step synthesis of monodispersed Pd nanocubes with ethylenediamine tetramethylene phosphonate (EDTMP) as a complex-forming and capping agent. The morphology, structure, and growth mechanism of the Pd nanocubes were fully characterized via selected area electron diffraction (SAED), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that the morphology of the Pd nanocrystals in the proposed EDTMP-PdCl 2 system could be changed from octahedrons to nanocubes simply by adjusting the amount of iodide used during synthesis. After UV/ozone and electrochemical cleaning, the as-prepared Pd nanocubes demonstrated excellent electrocatalytic activity and stability during formic acid oxidation, owing to their abundant {100} facets and small particle size.

Bifunctional Tailoring of Platinum Surfaces with Earth Abundant Iron Oxide Nanowires for Boosted Formic Acid Electro-Oxidation

“…e essence of this overcoming lies in modulating the Pt-CO binding to mitigate the adsorption of CO on the Pt surface and enriching the Pt surface with oxygen containing moieties that facilitates the oxidative removal of poisoning CO at a relatively low potential. Interestingly, the use of hybrid nanocatalysts of Pt with Pd, Au, Ru, Rh, Bi, Sn, Co, Cu, and Ni or with transition metal oxides such as NiOx, CoOx, MnOx, and Cu 2 O for FAO succeeded to provide a proof for this conception [24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. e current investigation suggests a low-priced and efficient FeOx/Pt nanocatalyst for FAO.…”

“…e electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is an effective and attractive technique comparing the internal charge transfer resistance (R ct ) of a given process in different catalysts [29,30]. Figure 7 shows the Nyquist plots of the investigated catalyst at open circuit potentials in 0.3 M FA (pH � 3.5) in the frequency range from 10 mHz to 100 kHz.…”

Recent Achievements in Noble Metal Catalysts with Unique Nanostructures for Liquid Fuel Cells

“…As one of the most promising 3 D nanostructures, nanocubes (NCs) have attracted wide attention in recent years. Exposed to the solution and in direct contact with alcohol molecules, the surface of NCs can have a great impact on the catalyst performance . Many years ago, Fang's group developed a solution‐based method for the fabrication of PtCu NCs and demonstrated their excellent activity and stability (Figure a–c).…”