Facile synthesis of AuPd nanowires anchored on the hybrid of layered double hydroxide and carbon black for enhancing catalytic performance towards ethanol electro-oxidation

Abstract

Improving the catalytic performance of ethanol electro-oxidation reaction (EOR) is crucial for accelerating the commercialization of direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs). In this work, AuPd nanowires (NWs) anchored on the hybrid of layered double hydroxides and carbon black (CB) was prepared by a facile procedure for anode electrocatalyst of ethanol electro-oxidation reaction (EOR). For comparison, unloaded AuPd NWs and AuPd nanopaticles (NPs) supported on LDH-CB were also prepared. These catalysts were characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The performance of these catalysts was evaluated by the reactions of ethanol in alkaline media by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometric measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It was found that the as-prepared AuPd NWs/LDH-CB demonstrated higher activity and stability than those of unloaded AuPd NWs, commercial Pd/C and AuPd NPs/LDH-CB attributed to the AuPd nanowires with more active sites, electronic structure of Pd modified by alloyed with Au and interacted with LDH-CB as well as the electron transfer ability facilitated by CB.