Assembly of Bimetallic PdAg Nanosheets and Their Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity toward Ethanol Oxidation

The direct ethanol fuel cells in an alkaline medium have a broad vision of applications because of their large energy density, reasonable power density, and environmentally friendly features. Herein, we present a facile one-step method to synthesize PdAg nanosheet assemblies (NSAs) in a mixed solution of N,N-di­methyl­form­amide and water with the addition of molybdenum hexacarbonyl and cetyl­tri­methyl­ammonium bromide. Pure Pd NSA shows an irregular shape while PdAg NSAs gradually undergo a process from solid assembly to a hollow structure with the Pd/Ag molar ratio changing from 3:1 to 2:1 to 1:1. The formation of alloy nanosheets in the assemblies combined with the introduction of Ag in the Pd catalyst enhances the catalytic activity toward ethanol electrooxidation from 1524 mA mg–1 of pure Pd NSA to 1866 mA mg–1 of PdAg NSA with a Pd/Ag molar ratio of 2:1. On the basis of the experimental data, compared with pure Pd structures, both the nature of a thin nanosheet of PdAg NSAs and the structural changes in the alloy assemblies play key roles in determining the electrocatalytic activity of these Pd-based catalysts.