Highly enhanced ethanol electrocatalytic activity of PdPb network nanocomposites achieved by a small amount platinum modification

•PdPbPt interconnected network type nanoparticles have been synthesized by a facile route.•The ethanol electrocatalytic activity of PdPb nanocomposites was highly enhanced by a small amount platinum modification.•The anodic peak current densityon Pd1Pb1Pt0.027 electrode can reach as high as 6936 mA mg-1.

In this work, PdPbPt interconnected network type nanoparticles have been fabricated by a facile route, and the as-prepared PdPbPt composites were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical measurements. It is found that PVP plays an important role in enhancing the dispersion and stability of the catalyst. Moreover, the resultant network Pd1Pb1Pt0.027 nanoparticles reveal superior electrocatalytic activity and stability for the ethanol electro-oxidation reaction for comparison with other as-synthesized catalysts, which the anodic peak current density on Pd1Pb1Pt0.027 electrode can reach as high as 6936 mA mg−1, suggesting that Pd1Pb1Pt0.027 composite can be a promising catalyst for fuel cells.

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