Palladium Nanoparticles Immobilized in B, N Doped Porous Carbon as Electro-catalyst for Ethanol Oxidation Reaction

Abstract The Palladium (Pd) nanoparticles were immobilized on the boron (B), nitrogen (N) doped porous carbon (BNC-50) through replacing cobalt path at room temperature, which was derived from the high-temperature pyrolysis of the modified Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks (ZIF) composes coated with 5-boronoisophthalic acid. The Pd nanoparticles could be uniformly dispersed on the BNC-50 supports by replacement reaction to effectively avoid the Pd nanoparticles agglomeration. Meanwhile, the B, N doping can further grapple the palladium nanoparticles with luxuriant activity sites during the loading process. The highly order carbon frameworks also offer more porous paths and interspace to enhance the mass and charge delivery. Therefore, the synthetic catalysis of palladium nanoparticles immobilized on the porous B, N-doped carbon displays excellent activity (Pd/BNC-50) for ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). The catalytic activities of the Pd/BNC-50 with peak current density (2638.41 mA mg−1) are 3.77 times than that of Pd/C in the basic reaction solution.