Synthesis of PdCu nanowire assembly and their catalytic activity toward ethanol oxidation

Abstract Assembly of noble metal based nanoparticles has been attracted great interest due to their unique structural features and potentially important applications. Colloidal nanowire assembly (CNA) of pure Pd and PdCu bimetallic electrocatalysts have been obtained by using hydrothermal synthesis. PdCu bimetallic nanowires in the CNAs are not straight and cross-linked with the diameters of about 2–4 nm. The Pd/Cu molar ratio not only affects the morphology of the CNAs slightly, but also plays a decisive role in determining their catalytic activity toward electrooxidation of ethanol. PdCu CNAs with the Pd/Cu molar ratio of 3:1 shows the best catalytic current density of 1598 mA/mg or 2120 mA/mgPd among three types of PdCu CNAs as well as pure Pd CNAs. Based on the experimental data, the structure-property relationship of Pd CNAs and PdCu CNAs was disscussed and analysed.