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One-pot fabrication of single-crystalline octahedral Pd-Pt nanocrystals with enhanced electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation

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Abstract

This study reports the synthesis of octahedral Pd-Pt bimetallic alloy nanocrystals through a facile, one-pot, templateless, and seedless hydrothermal method in the presence of glucose and hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide. The morphologies, compositions, and structures of the Pd-Pt nanocrystals were fully characterized by various physical techniques, thereby demonstrating their highly alloying octahedral nanostructures. The formation or growth mechanism of the Pd-Pt bimetallic alloy nanocrystals was explored and is discussed here based on the experimental observations. In addition, the synthesized Pd-Pt nanocrystals were applied to the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) in alkaline media, which proved that the as-prepared catalysts exhibit enhanced electrocatalytic activity for MOR. Pd1Pt3 exhibited the best stability and durability, and its mass activity was 3.4 and 5.2 times greater than those of Pt black and Pd black catalysts, respectively. The facile synthetic process and excellent catalytic performance of the as-prepared catalysts demonstrate that they have the potential to be used in direct methanol fuel cell techniques.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. 51471153 and 51372227), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (no. LY14E020011), and the 521 Talent Project of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University for providing financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Advanced Textile Materials and Manufacturing Technology, Ministry of Education, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, 310018, People’s Republic of China

    Meiling Peng, Wei Xu, Weihao Cui, Tao Wang & Sheng Wang

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  1. Meiling Peng
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  2. Wei Xu
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  4. Tao Wang
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  5. Sheng Wang
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Correspondence to Tao Wang or Sheng Wang.

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Peng, M., Xu, W., Cui, W. et al. One-pot fabrication of single-crystalline octahedral Pd-Pt nanocrystals with enhanced electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation. J Solid State Electrochem 21, 391–401 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-016-3370-9

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