Ultrasonic-assisted synthesis of N-doped graphene-supported binary PdAu nanoflowers for enhanced electro-oxidation of ethylene glycol and glycerol

•The binary PdAu nanoflowers supported by N-doped graphene are fabricated.•The morphology of PdAu/NG is PVP-dependent.•The ultrasonic procedure is crucial for the synthesis of desirable PdAu/NG.•The obtained PdAu/NG exhibit outstandingly high electrocatalytic performances.

The design of cost-efficient catalysts for the electrooxidation of small organic molecules are highly desirable for the commercial application of direct fuel cells. Shape-controlled PdAu alloys with N-doped graphene support are highly efficient electrocatalysts for the electrooxidation of ethylene glycol and glycerol in the alkaline media. Impressively, the newly generated Pd1Au1-NF/NG catalysts prepared by a facile ultrasonic-assisted synthetic method in this work exhibit the unprecedentedly high mass activities with 12.8 and 8.7 A mg −1 towards ethylene glycol and glycerol oxidation, which are 10.07- and 12.25-fold enhancements than that of commercial Pd/C catalyst (1.27 and 0.71 A mg −1), respectively. This work may open a new way in enlarging the surface area and ultimately maximizing the electrocatalytic activities by tuning the morphology of metallic alloy and introducing the appropriate catalyst supports.

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