Synthesis of mesoporous hollow carbon hemispheres as highly efficient Pd electrocatalyst support for ethanol oxidation

The synthesis procedure of the highly mesoporous hollow carbon hemispheres (HCHs) using glucose as carbon source and solid core mesoporous shell silica (SCMSS) as template and the formation mechanism of the HCHs have been presented. The HCHs show an ultrahigh surface area of 1095.59 m2 g−1 and an average mesopore size of 9.38 nm. The hemispherical structure with large mesopores also results in the improvement in the mass transfer and therefore more concentrated ethanol solution can be used to increase the energy density. The additional advantage of the HCHs compared to the hollow carbon spheres is that they can provide the similar surface area at reduced volume. The current densities of ethanol oxidation on Pd nanoparticles supported on HCH (Pd/HCH) electrocatalyst are three times as many as on Pd/C at the same Pd loadings.