MOF-derived Cu embedded into N-doped mesoporous carbon as a robust support of PdAu nanocatalysts for ethanol electrooxidation

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted widespread attention due to their large surface area and porous structure. Rationally designing the nanostructures of MOFs to promote their application in ethanol electrooxidation is still a challenge. Here, a novel Cu-NCNs (Cu-nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes) support was synthesized by pyrolysis of melamine (MEL) and Cu-ZIF-8 together, and then, Pd–Au nanoalloys were loaded by sodium borohydride reduction method to prepare PdAu@Cu-NCNs catalysts. The generating mesoporous carbon with high specific surface area and favorable electron and mass transport can be used as a potential excellent carrier for PdAu nanoparticles. In addition, the balance of catalyst composition and surface structure was tuned by controlling the content of Pd and Au. Thus, the best-performed Pd 2 Au 2 @Cu-NCN-1000–2 (where 1000 means the carrier calcination temperature, and 2 means the calcination constant temperature time) catalyst exhibits better long-term stability and electrochemical activity for ethanol oxidation in alkaline media (4.80 A·mg −1 ), which is 5.05 times higher than that of commercial Pd/C (0.95 A· mg −1 ). Therefore, this work is beneficial to further promoting the application of MOFs in direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) and can be used as inspiration for the design of more efficient catalyst support structures. Graphical abstract