Single atom iron carbons supported Pd–Ni–P nanoalloy as a multifunctional electrocatalyst for alcohol oxidation

Exploring high-performance and multifunctional electrocatalysts for alcohols oxidation is the key to develop alkaline fuel cells. Herein, we prepared a novel palladium-nickel-phosphorus catalyst supported on single atom iron carbons (SAICs) with different diameter sizes (1000 nm, 200 nm, 100 nm, 50 nm, and 20 nm), which were synthesized by direct carbonization of Fe-doped Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 (ZIF-8). Electrochemical tests reveal that the as-prepared PdNiP/50nmSAIC exhibited excellent electrooxidation activity and stability to the various alcohols (methanol, glycerol, and especially ethylene glycol) electrooxidation in the alkaline solution, which is much higher than that of commercial Pd/C and other advanced Pd-based catalysts. Meanwhile, the rotating disk electrode (RDE) and CO-stripping results proves that PdNiP/50nmSAIC possesses a faster kinetic process of ethylene glycol oxidation and enhanced anti-CO poisoning ability. Our efforts provide a new strategy for the development of MOFs-derived multielement electrocatalyst with excellent activity and stability, and a bright future for alcohol oxidation.