One-pot synthesis of graphene-supported monodisperse Pd nanoparticles as catalyst for formic acid electro-oxidation

Sudong Yang; Jing Dong; Zhaohui Yao; Chengmin Shen; Xuezhao Shi; Yuan Tian; Shaoxiong Lin; Xiaogang Zhang

doi:10.1038/srep04501

One-pot synthesis of graphene-supported monodisperse Pd nanoparticles as catalyst for formic acid electro-oxidation

Sci Rep. 2014 Mar 28:4:4501. doi: 10.1038/srep04501.

Authors

Sudong Yang¹, Jing Dong², Zhaohui Yao³, Chengmin Shen⁴, Xuezhao Shi⁴, Yuan Tian⁴, Shaoxiong Lin⁴, Xiaogang Zhang⁵

Affiliations

¹ 1] Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China [2] College of Material Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, P. R. China [3] Laboratory of Eco-Materials and Sustainable Technology (LEMST), Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics & Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, P. R. China [4].
² 1] School of Aerospace, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, P. R. China [2].
³ School of Aerospace, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, P. R. China.
⁴ Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China.
⁵ College of Material Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, P. R. China.

Abstract

To synthesize monodisperse palladium nanoparticles dispersed on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets, we have developed an easy and scalable solvothermal reduction method from an organic solution system. The RGO-supported palladium nanoparticles with a diameter of 3.8 nm are synthesized in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and in the presence of oleylamine and trioctylphosphine, which facilitates simultaneous reduction of graphene oxide and formation of Pd nanocrystals. So-produced Pd/RGO was tested for potential use as electrocatalyst for the electro-oxidation of formic acid. Pd/RGO catalyzes formic acid oxidation very well compared to Pd/Vulcan XC-72 catalyst. This synthesis method is a new way to prepare excellent electrocatalysts, which is of great significance in energy-related catalysis.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't