Peptide capped Pd nanoparticles for oxygen electroreduction: Strong surface effects

•Peptide capped Pd nanoparticles were employed as efficient catalyst for ORR.•C11- and A6C11-PdNPs exhibited the best activity among the series.•Strong surface effects between peptide sequence and ORR activity were established.•Offset effects and local surface environment change may cause the surface effects.

Peptide-capped nanoparticles represent a unique type of nanomaterials with emergent optical and electrochemical properties. Herein, a series of peptide capped palladium nanoparticles have been prepared and employed as highly efficient catalysts for oxygen electroreduction. The peptide sequence was tuned by substituting amino acid residues at specialized positions, and strong surface effects were observed between the peptide sequence and the electrocatalytic activity. The findings corresponded well with the previously reported CC coupling catalytic reactions, indicating that the residue-specific binding effects but not the overall binding strength governed the electrocatalytic activity. The results may shed light on the rational design of bio-inspired nanomaterials with optimized electrocatalytic properties.

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