Conformal Solution Deposition of Pt-Pd Titania Nanocomposite Coatings for Light-Assisted Formic Acid Electrooxidation

Many nanofabrication processes require sophisticated equipment, elevated temperature, vacuum or specific atmospheric conditions, templates, and exotic chemicals, which severely hampers their implementation in real-world applications. In this study, we outline a fully wet-chemical procedure for equipping a 3D carbon felt (CF) substrate with a multifunctional, titania nanospike supported Pt-Pd nanoparticle (Pt-Pd-TiO2@CF) layer in a facile and scalable manner. The nanostructure, composition, chemical speciation and formation of the material was meticulously investigated, evidencing the conformal coating of the substrate with a roughened layer of nanocrystalline rutile spikes by chemical bath deposition from Ti3+ solutions. The spikes are densely covered by bimetallic nanoparticles of 4.4 ± 1.1 nm size, which were produced by autocatalytic Pt deposition onto Pd seeds introduced by Sn2+ ionic layer adsorption and reaction. The as-synthesized nanocomposite was applied to the (photo)electrooxidation of formic a...