Design and Synthesis of Palladium/Black Phosphorus-Graphene Hybrids as High-Performance Catalysts for Ethanol Electrooxidation in Alkaline Media

In this study, a series of Pd-supported black phosphorus-graphene (Pd/BP-G) catalysts are prepared to explore their electrocatalytic performances in the electrooxidation of ethanol in alkaline media. The characterization results show that BP is combined with activated graphene to form a P-C bond and a P-O-C bond heterojunction. Pd nanoparticles equally anchor on the BP-G hybrid, and Pd/BP-G exhibited enhanced electro-catalytic activity for the ethanol oxidation reaction in alkaline media. The electrochemically active surface area and mass activity for the Pd/BP-G catalyst reached 210.4 m2 center dot gPd-1 and 3960.0 mA center dot mgPd-1, which are 9.54 and 5.86 times higher than those of commercial Pd/C, respectively. Further studies show that Pd/BP-G catalysts have reliable stabilities and faster reaction kinetics. These results indicate that the prepared Pd/BP-G catalysts have great application potentials in direct ethanol fuel cells.