Highly Active PdCu Alloy Nanowire Network Electrocatalyst for Ethanol and Methanol Electrooxidation

PdCu alloy nanowire networks (NNWs) with tunable compositions are synthesized. Electrooxidaton catalytic measurements prove that the as-prepared PdCu NNWs represent a predominant catalyst for methanol and ethanol electrooxidation reactions in alkaline medium. With increasing copper content, the electrocatalytic activity of the catalytic materials to ethanol and methanol was significantly increased. Pd27Cu73 NNWmodified electrodes display superior catalytic activity (8300 Ag-Pd(-1)) toward the ethanol electrooxidation compared to commercial Pd/C-modified electrodes (700 Ag-Pd(-1)). PdCu NNWs have great potential as electrocatalysts for fuel cells.