Investigation on the electrocatalytic activity and stability of three-dimensional and two-dimensional palladium nanostructures for ethanol and formic acid oxidation

Three dimensional (3-D) self-supported noble metal nanostructures are attractive for their unique properties of high porosity, low density, excellent charge, and mass transfer which increases catalytic activity. Herein, a facile route of preparing two-dimensional (2-D) palladium nanosheets and three-dimensional palladium nanostructure is introduced. By raising the temperature of the reaction mixture, it is possible for Pd nanosheets to change from 2-D into the 3-D structure. Morphology and chemical composition of the nanostructures are characterized by Transition Electron microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX). We reveal that the as-prepared 3-D Pd nanostructure shows a higher electrocatalytic activity and stability towards ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) than 2-D Pd nanosheets, due to its porous nanostructures that renders a high surface area. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.