Ultrathin PdFePb nanowires: One-pot aqueous synthesis and efficient electrocatalysis for polyhydric alcohol oxidation reaction

Abstract Synthesis of high-efficiency catalysts for alcohol oxidation reaction caused great interest because they are promising fuels towards direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs). Ultrathin PdFePb nanowires (NWs) with an average diameter of 2.3 nm were synthesized by a simple and fast one-pot aqueous synthesis, using octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (NP-40) as the structure-directing agent. The as-prepared PdFePb NWs displayed an increscent electrochemically active surface area (ECSA, 121.18 m2 g−1Pd). For ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) and glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR), PdFePb NWs exhibited much higher catalytic activity and superior stability, outperforming those of homemade PdFe NWs, PdPb NWs, commercial Pd black and Pd/C (20 wt.%). These results reveal dramatically high catalytic activity and durability of ultrathin PdFePb NWs in enhancing polyols electrooxidation.