Synthesis of Ultrathin PdCu Alloy Nanosheets Used as a Highly Efficient Electrocatalyst for Formic Acid Oxidation

Nailiang Yang; Zhicheng Zhang; Bo Chen; Ying Huang; Junze Chen; Zhuangchai Lai; Ye Chen; Melinda Sindoro; An-Liang Wang; Hongfei Cheng; Zhanxi Fan; Xiaozhi Liu; Bing Li; Yun Zong; Lin Gu; Hua Zhang

doi:10.1002/adma.201700769

Synthesis of Ultrathin PdCu Alloy Nanosheets Used as a Highly Efficient Electrocatalyst for Formic Acid Oxidation

Adv Mater. 2017 Aug;29(29). doi: 10.1002/adma.201700769. Epub 2017 Jun 6.

Authors

Nailiang Yang¹, Zhicheng Zhang¹, Bo Chen¹, Ying Huang¹, Junze Chen¹, Zhuangchai Lai¹, Ye Chen¹, Melinda Sindoro¹, An-Liang Wang¹, Hongfei Cheng¹, Zhanxi Fan¹, Xiaozhi Liu^{2

3}, Bing Li⁴, Yun Zong⁴, Lin Gu^{2

3

5}, Hua Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ Center for Programmable Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
² Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
³ School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
⁴ Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore, 138634, Singapore.
⁵ Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing, 100190, China.

PMID: 28585235
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201700769

Abstract

Inspired by the unique properties of ultrathin 2D nanomaterials and excellent catalytic activities of noble metal nanostructures for renewable fuel cells, a facile method is reported for the high-yield synthesis of ultrathin 2D PdCu alloy nanosheets under mild conditions. Impressively, the obtained PdCu alloy nanosheet after being treated with ethylenediamine can be used as a highly efficient electrocatalyst for formic acid oxidation. The study implicates that the rational design and controlled synthesis of an ultrathin 2D noble metal alloy may open up new opportunities for enhancing catalytic activities of noble metal nanostructures.

Keywords: PdCu alloy; electrocatalysts; formic acid oxidation; nanosheets.