HCl-assisted pyrolysis of PdCl2 to immobilize palladium nanoparticles on multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Palladium nanoparticles supported on multi-walled carbon nanotubes, denoted as Pd/MWCNTs, were prepared by simple pyrolysis of PdCl2 aqueous solution plus HCl. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the Pd/MWCNTs obtained, and the results showed that the diameter of the palladium nanoparticles immobilized on the MWCNTs was close to 30 nm. Energy dispersive spectroscopy proved the existence of elemental Pd on the surface of the MWCNTs. The electrocatalytic performance of the Pd/MWCNTs in the ethanol oxidation reaction was probed using cyclic voltammetry. This demonstrated that it would be possible to utilize the Pd/MWCNTs as anode material in fuel cells. The main contribution of this preliminary work is the development of a novel and simple method to prepare palladium nanoparticles on MWCNTs, which will be helpful in the preparation of Pd nanoparticles on a large scale.