Palladium aerogel as a high-performance electrocatalyst for ethanol electro-oxidation in alkaline media

Abstract

Noble metal aerogels as three-dimensional (3D) nanostructures with high surface area and large porosity are known to be exceptional materials that can be applied in the area of catalysis applications. Until now all self-assembly noble metal aerogels have been made from nanochains, but the synthesis of noble metal aerogels formed by nanosheets still remains a controversial issue. In this study we demonstrate the assembling of palladium nanosheets toward the making of a Pd aerogel for the first time. Following supercritical drying, the resulting Pd aerogel exhibits high surface area and shows a high mass current density, 5.8 times higher than of commercial Pd/C, which can be attributed to an increase in the electrochemical surface area (ECSA) and significant properties of this structure. This new structure of palladium aerogel as well as its exceptional properties hold great promise in a variety of applications.