Palladium nanoparticles from surfactant/fast-reduction combination one-pot synthesis for the liquid fuel cell applications

We report a facile one-pot synthesis of well-dispersed Pd nanoparticles on a carbon nanofiber (CNF) support, achieved via the unique sequential processes of supramolecular self-assembly and fast reduction of the Pd source. Pd ions attached to the sulfate ends of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) molecules self-assembled on a CNF, and subsequent fast reduction suppressed particle coarsening, in contrast to the slow reduction processes in previous works. The particle size and dispersion uniformity were comparable to those of particles synthesized by combined SDS/high-energy irradiation. The Pd nanoparticles prepared using the present one-pot approach were superior or comparable to those obtained using non-one-pot approaches in previous works in terms of electrocatalytic activity and long-term stability in the electrooxidation of liquid fuels at the anodes of direct formic acid, direct methanol, and direct ethanol fuel cells.