Carbon nanotube/raspberry hollow Pd nanosphere hybrids for methanol, ethanol, and formic acid electro-oxidation in alkaline media

In this paper, raspberry hollow Pd nanospheres (HPNs)-decorated carbon nanotube (CNT) was developed for electro-oxidation of methanol, ethanol, and formic acid in alkaline media. The electrocatalyst was fabricated simply by attaching HPNs onto the surface of CNT which had been functionalized by polymer wrapping. The as-prepared HPN–CNTs (CHPNs) were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The increasing interest and intensive research on fuel cell inspire us to investigate the electrocatalytic properties of the prepared nanostructures. Besides that, previous reports about alkaline other than acidic media could supply a more active environment guide us to examine the electrocatalytic properties in alkaline electrolyte. It is found that this novel hybrid electrocatalyst exhibits excellent electrocatalytic properties and can be further applied in fuel cells, catalysts, and sensors.

Raspberry hollow Pd nanosphere decorated carbon nanotube was fabricated using PDDA as the linker and applied as methanol, ethanol and formic acid oxidation in alkaline media.Figure optionsDownload high-quality image (78 K)Download as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights
► A novel hybrid carbon nanotube-hollow Pd nanosphere electrocatalyst was fabricated.
► Carbon nanotube was functionalized with conductive polymer.
► Electrocatalyst behavior towards methanol, ethanol, and formic acid oxidation in alkaline media was investigated.
► The hollow structure of Pd nanosphere and 3D structure of carbon nanotube can promote the electrocatalyst to be applicable in direct alcohol/formic acid fuel cell.