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Palladium Nanotubes Formed by Lipid Tubule Templating and Their Application in Ethanol Electrocatalysis
Author(s) -
Wang Yinan,
Ma Shenghua,
Su Yingchun,
Han Xiaojun
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201406175
Subject(s) - tubule , palladium , electrocatalyst , adsorption , materials science , metal , ethanol , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , catalysis , template , nanotube , carbon nanotube , chemistry , electrode , electrochemistry , organic chemistry , metallurgy , medicine , engineering , kidney , endocrinology
Abstract Palladium nanotubes were fabricated by using lipid tubules as templates for the first time in a controlled manner. The positively charged lipid 1,2‐dioleoyl‐3‐trimethylammoniumpropane (DOTAP) was doped into lipid tubules to adsorb PdCl 4 2− on the tubule surfaces for further reduction. The lipid tubule formation was optimized by studying the growing dynamics and ethanol/water ratio. The DOTAP‐doped tubules showed pH stability from 0 to 14, which makes them ideal templates for metal plating. The Pd nanotubes are open‐ended with a tunable wall thickness. They exhibited good electrocatalytic performance in ethanol. Their electrochemically active surface areas were 6.5, 10.6, and 83.2 m 2 g −1 for Pd nanotubes with 77, 101, and 150 nm wall thickness, respectively. These Pd nanotubes have great potential in fuel cells. The method demonstrated also opens up a way to synthesize hollow metal nanotubes.