Plasma synthesis of Pd/PdO supported on porous graphene as electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation

• Pd/PdO nanoparticles supported on porous graphene are synthesized by a gas-liquid interfacial plasma method.
• The Pd/PdO electrocatalysts exhibit a high electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation.
• The PdO present in Pd nanoparticles can enhance the electrocatalytic activity.
• The Pd/PdO nanoparticles with PG support displays much better activity than CNT support for methanol oxidation.

Pd/PdO nanoparticles supported on porous graphene (PG) are synthesized by a gas-liquid interfacial plasma method using Pd(NO3)2·2H2O as precursor. The Pd/PdO ratios can be controlled by changing the amount of Pd(NO3)2·2H2O. The synthesized Pd/PdO electrocatalysts exhibit a high electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation. The Pd/PdO nanoparticles attached on PG support shows better activity than that on oxidation carbon nanotubes support for methanol oxidation. In addition, our findings show that the PdO present in the Pd nanoparticles can enhance the electrocatalytic activity. It is worth to mention that the Pd/PdO nanoparticles supported on porous graphene catalysts show better electrochemical stability than that of commercial Pd/C catalyst.