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Alkyne‐Protected AuPd Alloy Nanoparticles for Electrocatalytic Reduction of Oxygen
Author(s) -
Deming Christopher P.,
Zhao Albert,
Song Yang,
Liu Ke,
Khan Mohammad M.,
Yates Veronica M.,
Chen Shaowei
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
chemelectrochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.182
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 2196-0216
DOI - 10.1002/celc.201500252
Subject(s) - x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , alkyne , nanoparticle , alloy , catalysis , palladium , surface modification , metal , materials science , oxygen , chemical engineering , salt (chemistry) , inorganic chemistry , nuclear chemistry , chemistry , nanotechnology , metallurgy , organic chemistry , engineering
Abstract Dodecyne‐capped AuPd alloy nanoparticles of varying compositions were prepared through the co‐reduction of metal‐salt precursors with NaBH 4 . TEM measurements showed that the particles were largely in the range of 2–6 nm in diameter. XPS studies showed that the atomic Pd concentration varied from 65 to 100 %. Infrared spectroscopic measurements confirmed the bonding attachment of the dodecyne ligands on the nanoparticle surfaces, which rendered the nanoparticles readily dispersible in common organic media. Electrochemically, the resulting nanoparticles exhibited apparent catalytic activity in oxygen reduction with a volcano‐shaped variation with the metal composition. The best performance was identified with the sample composed of 91.2 at % Pd that exhibited a mass activity over eight times better than that of commercial palladium black, and almost twice as good in terms of specific activity. This remarkable performance was accounted for by both alloying with gold and surface functionalization with alkyne ligands that manipulated the electronic interactions between palladium and oxygen species.