Ethylenediamine tetramethylene phosphonic acid assisted synthesis of palladium nanocubes and their electrocatalysis of formic acid oxidation

• Published in: Journal of solid state electrochemistry Vol. 21; no. 5; pp. 1297 - 1303
• Main Authors: Zhao, Ruopeng, Liu, Zhenyuan, Gong, Mingxing, Zhang, Qingwen, Shi, Xinhao, Hu, Yongqi, Qi, Weiye, Tang, Yawen, Wang, Yi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.05.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analytical Chemistry; Catalytic activity; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Condensed Matter Physics; Electrochemical cleaning; Electrochemistry; Electron diffraction; Electrons; Energy Storage; Ethylenediamine; Formic acid; Morphology; Nanocrystals; Octahedrons; Original Paper; Oxidation; Palladium; Phosphonates; Phosphonic acids; Photoelectrons; Physical Chemistry; Synthesis; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy; One-step; Nanocube; Palladium; Formic acid oxidation reaction; Ethylenediamine tetramethylene phosphonic acid
• ISSN: 1432-8488; 1433-0768
• DOI: 10.1007/s10008-016-3470-6

The synthesis of Pd nanocrystals of controlled size and morphology has drawn enormous interest due to their catalytic activity. We report a new and efficient strategy for the one-step synthesis of monodispersed Pd nanocubes with ethylenediamine tetramethylene phosphonate (EDTMP) as a complex-forming and capping agent. The morphology, structure, and growth mechanism of the Pd nanocubes were fully characterized via selected area electron diffraction (SAED), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that the morphology of the Pd nanocrystals in the proposed EDTMP–PdCl 2 system could be changed from octahedrons to nanocubes simply by adjusting the amount of iodide used during synthesis. After UV/ozone and electrochemical cleaning, the as-prepared Pd nanocubes demonstrated excellent electrocatalytic activity and stability during formic acid oxidation, owing to their abundant {100} facets and small particle size.