Biomass‐Derived 3D Carbon Aerogel with Carbon Shell‐Confined Binary Metallic Nanoparticles in CNTs as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for Microfluidic Direct Ethylene Glycol Fuel Cells

Abstract Flexible and 3D carbon aerogels (CAs) composed of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with carbon shell‐confined binary palladium–nickel (Pd x –Ni y ) nanocatalysts on carbon fibers (Pd x –Ni y /NSCNT/CA) have been developed through a facile chemical vapor deposition method. The 3D porous carbon network and the synergistic effect of carbon shell‐confined bimetal nanoparticles of rationally constructed aerogels facilitate enhanced electrocatalytic and antipoisoning activities toward ethylene glycol (EG) oxidation reaction compared to the commercial Pt/C catalyst. With the 3D morphological features and direct growth of Pd–Ni bimetallic nanoparticles encapsulated CNTs on carbon fibers, the Pd 52 –Ni 48 /NSCNT/CA delivers a maximum microfluidic direct ethylene glycol fuel cell (µDEGFC) power density and durability of, respectively, 62.8 mW cm −2 and 60 h. The superior performance observed, with Pd 52 –Ni 48 /NSCNT/CA amongst the catalysts reported in the literature, opens an exciting research avenue towards powering next‐generation, portable electronics.