Pd nanoparticles supported on phenanthroline modified carbon as high active electrocatalyst for ethylene glycol oxidation

• Phenanthroline as nitrogen source to modify traditional carbon support. • Synthesized a novel catalyst of Pd supported on PMC. • Pd/PMC catalyst shows excellent activity and stability. Modified carbon is fabricated by applying phenanthroline as nitrogen source and used as support (PMC) to immobilize Pd nanoparticles. Because the nitrogen-doping not only changes physicochemical and electronic properties of carbon but also serves as basic or coordination sites to stabilize and produce additional electronic activation for Pd, the Pd/PMC exhibits excellent electrochemcial performance for ethylene glycol oxidation. Compared to conventional Pd/C catalyst, the Pd/PMC catalyst has a larger electrochemically active surface area, 50 mV more negative onset potential, 1.77 times oxidation current and superior stability.