Understanding the electrocatalytic activity at single nanoparticles/nanoclusters level is extremely important. In this work, a method for the electro-deposition of single Pt-Pd nanoparticles (NPs) is described using a single nanopore electrode as a template. The electro-deposition process was investigated carefully and the results show that the process is controlled by diffusion and electro-crystallization process, simultaneously, and the glass sheath property around the nanopore has a large impact on the formation of single Pt-Pd NPs due to the "edge effect". The prepared single Pt-Pd NPs exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity in the methanol oxidation reaction, which can be used to screen electrocatalysts with high efficiency for utility in the energy field.
Keywords: electrode; methanol oxidation; nanoparticles; palladium; platinum.
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