Active sites contribution from nanostructured interface of palladium and cerium oxide with enhanced catalytic performance for alcohols oxidation in alkaline solution

Nanostructured interface is significant for the electrocatalysis process. Here we comparatively studied the electrooxidation of alcohols catalyzed by nanostructured palladium or palladium–cerium oxide. Two kinds of active sites were observed in palladium–cerium oxide system, attributing to the co-action of Pd–cerium oxide interface and Pd sites alone, by CO stripping technique, a structure-sensitive process generally employed to probe the active sites. Active sites resulting from the nanostructured interfacial contact of Pd and cerium oxide were confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy and electrochemical CO stripping approaches. Electrochemical measurements of cyclic voltammetry and chronometry results demonstrated that Pd–cerium oxide catalysts exhibited much higher catalytic performances for alcohols oxidation than Pd alone in terms of activity, stability and anti-poisoning ability. The improved performance was probably attributed to the nanostructured active interface in which the catalytic ability from each component can be maximized through the synergistic action of bi-functional mechanism and electronic effect. The calculated catalytic efficiency of such active sites was many times higher than that of the Pd active sites alone. The present work showed the significance of valid nanostructured interface design and fabrication in the advanced catalysis system.