A facile self-assembly approach to prepare palladium/carbon nanotubes catalyst for the electro-oxidation of ethanol

A facile self-assembly approach is reported to prepare palladium/carbon nanotubes (Pd/CNTs) catalyst for the electro-oxidation of ethanol. In this method, the Pd-oleate/CNTs was decomposed into the Pd/CNTs at an optimal temperature of 195 degrees Cin air, in which no inert gas is needed for the thermal decomposition process due to the low temperature used and the decomposed products are also environmental friendly. The prepared Pd/CNTs catalyst has a high metallic Pd-0 content and the Pd particles in the catalyst are disperse, uniform-sized with an average size of similar to 2.1 nm, and evenly distributed on the CNTs. By employing our strategy, the problems including the exfoliation of the metal particles from the CNTs and the aggregation of the metal particles can be solved. Comparing with the commercial Pd/Cone, the prepared Pd/CNTs catalyst exhibits a much higher electrochemical activity and stability for the electro-oxidation of ethanol in the direct ethanol fuel cells.