Controllable synthesis of PtPd nanocubes on graphene as advanced catalysts for ethanol oxidation

PtPd nanocubes (NCs) were uniformly deposited on the reduced graphene oxides (RGOs) via a one-pot solvothermal reduction. These PtPd NCs were enclosed with (100) facet. Their size can be tuned from 11 to 27 nm by controlling their composition. Under the optimum atomic ratio of Pt/Pd (1:5), the as-prepared RGO-supported PtPd NCs show a superior catalytic efficiency of ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) with a specific activity of 2.3 mA cm−2 and a mass activity of 1.08 A mg−1 Pt, far above those for the RGO-supported Pt nanoparticles (0.3 mA cm−2 for specific activity and 0.018 A mg−1 Pt for mass activity). Besides, these EOR catalysts exhibit a high CO-tolerance without significant current decay during steady-state polarization at 0.6 V over 4000 s. Their durability is also remarkable with only 8.9% loss of their electrochemical surface area (ECSA) after 10 000 cycles of voltammetric test.