Supported Pd–Cu Bimetallic Nanoparticles That Have High Activity for the Electrochemical Oxidation of Methanol

Monodisperse bimetallic Pd-Cu nanoparticles with controllable size and composition were synthesized by a one-step multiphase ethylene glycol (EG) method. Adjusting the stoichiometric ratio of the Pd and Cu precursors afforded nanoparticles with different compositions, such as Pd(85)-Cu(15), Pd(56)-Cu(44), and Pd(39)-Cu(61). The nanoparticles were separated from the solution mixture by extraction with non-polar solvents, such as n-hexane. Monodisperse bimetallic Pd-Cu nanoparticles with narrow size-distribution were obtained without the need for a size-selection process. Capping ligands that were bound to the surface of the particles were removed through heat treatment when the as-prepared nanoparticles were loaded onto a Vulcan XC-72 carbon support. Supported bimetallic Pd-Cu nanoparticles showed enhanced electrocatalytic activity towards methanol oxidation compared with supported Pd nanoparticles that were fabricated according to the same EG method. For a bimetallic Pd-Cu catalyst that contained 15 % Cu, the activity was even comparable to the state-of-the-art commercially available Pt/C catalysts. A STEM-HAADF study indicated that the formation of random solid-solution alloy structures in the bimetallic Pd(85)-Cu(15)/C catalysts played a key role in improving the electrochemical activity.