title: Au-Pd alloy and core-shell nanostructures: one-pot coreduction preparation, formation mechanism, and electrochemical properties.
abstract: It is a known fact that Pd-based bimetallic nanostructures possess unique properties and excellent catalytic performance. In this work, the Au-Pd alloy and core-shell nanostructures have been prepared by a simple one-pot hydrothermal coreduction route, and their formation process and mechanism are discussed in detail. A reducing capacity-induced controlled reducing mechanism is proposed for the formation process of Au-Pd bimetallic nanostructures. CTAB plays a key role in the formation of alloy Au-Pd nanostructures. When CTAB is absent, the products are typical core-shell nanostructures. Moreover, the as-prepared nanostructures exhibit excellent electrocatalytic ORR performance in alkaline media, especially for Au-Pd alloy nanostructures. The overpotential of oxygen reduction gets reduced significantly, and the peak potential is positive-shifted by 44 and 34 mV in comparison with the core-shell ones and Pd/C catalyst, respectively. Thus, the controllable preparation and excellent electrocatalytic properties will make them become a potentially cheaper Pd-based cathodic electrocatalyst for DAFCs in alkaline media.
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Anhui Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241000, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kuai
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Shaozhen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sang
authors.forename: Baoyou
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Geng