N-doped carbon-stabilized PdNiCu nanoparticles derived from PdNi@Cu-ZIF-8 as highly active and durable electrocatalyst for boosting ethanol oxidation

Controlling the component, tailoring the size and designing the carbon supporting materials are three promising strategies to improve electrocatalytic activity. Herein, a monatomic Cu carrier (CuCN) with larger specific surface area was used to anchor PdNi alloy nanoparticles by a facile one-step reduction method. Physical characterization revealed that the PdNi nanoparticles in the synthesized material possess good dispersion, which is mainly attributed to the high specific surface area of CuCN-900. Electrochemical results revealed that CuCN supported PdNi nanoparticles (Pd1Ni1/CuCN-900) nanohybrids had superior durability and catalytic activity for ethanol oxidation (EOR) compared with that of other PdxNiy/CuCN and commercial Pd/C. Rotating disk electrode (RDE) results further demonstrated that Pd1Ni1/CuCN-900 has a faster kinetic process of EOR than commercial Pd/C. DFT calculation implies that OH adsorption is preferentially near the Ni atom, the OH species on Ni1Pd1 surface play an important role in the process of EOR. This is of great research implications for finding new carbon carriers and regulating catalyst components to improve the catalytic efficiency of PdNi catalysts.