Hydrothermal synthesis of complex morphological bimetal PdRh nanocatalysts for methanol oxidation

摘要

Bimetal PdRh nanoparticles were synthesized by one-pot hydrothermal method using triblock pluronic copolymers, poly (ethylene oxide)-poly (propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEOx-PPOy-PEOx), P123 (PEO19-PPO69-PEO19) as reductant, protectant, and KI as capping agent. The P123 and KI were combined to regulate the morphology, structure, and electrochemical property of the PdRh nanoparticles. In the one-pot hydrothermal method, hollow structure nanoparticles were produced based on the galvanic replacement reaction (GRR) method. The hollow nanocage PdRh nanoparticles were obtained by adding 20 mg KI with the atomic ratio of 1:1. When the amount of KI up to 40 mg, PdRh nanoparticles includes diverse solid, hollow nanocubes and nanospheres. The methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) performance of the PdRh nanoparticles was obviously enhanced compared to commercial Pd/C catalysts. The bimetallic PdRh nanocatalysts have broad application prospects in the field of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) due to their unique structure and excellent electrocatalytic performance. The influence of KI dosage on the catalyst performance was studied to further improve the catalytic activity of the catalyst and lay a foundation for exploring more efficient catalysts. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.