In-situ synthesis of carbon-supported ultrafine trimetallic PdSnAg nanoparticles for highly efficient alcohols electrocatalysis.

Designing functional and durable electrocatalysts for the oxidation of alcohols plays a significant role for the development of direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs). Herein, carbon-supported ultrafine PdSnAg nanoparticles with an average size of 3.27 nm (denoted as PdSnAg/C NPs) have been synthesized for alcohols electrocatalysis. The smaller particle size means a higher proportion of surface exposed atoms for catalyzing the reaction followed by high catalytic performance. The multimetallic nanoalloys have potential electronic structure adjustment and synergistic effect between different components. The incorporation of oxophilic metals Sn and Ag facilitates the removal of intermediates produced during the oxidation of alcohols. The PdSnAg/C NPs exhibit a remarkable electrocatalytic performance for ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) with the mass activity of 12.3 A mg, which is 15.6, 2.50 and 2.60 times higher than those of commercial Pd/C (0.790 A mg), PdSn/C NPs (4.85 A mg) and PdAg/C NPs (4.69 A mg), respectively. Meanwhile, PdSnAg/C NPs show superior mass activities of 10.6 A mg and 6.65 A mg for ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) and glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR), which are 14.3 and 8.30 times superior than the commercial Pd/C, respectively. The exceptional mass activity promises the PdSnAg/C NPs to be the potential Pd-based catalysts for alcohols electrocatalysis.