title: Palladium nanotubes formed by lipid tubule templating and their application in ethanol electrocatalysis.
abstract: Palladium nanotubes were fabricated by using lipid tubules as templates for the first time in a controlled manner. The positively charged lipid 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammoniumpropane (DOTAP) was doped into lipid tubules to adsorb PdCl4 (2-) on the tubule surfaces for further reduction. The lipid tubule formation was optimized by studying the growing dynamics and ethanol/water ratio. The DOTAP-doped tubules showed pH stability from 0 to 14, which makes them ideal templates for metal plating. The Pd nanotubes are open-ended with a tunable wall thickness. They exhibited good electrocatalytic performance in ethanol. Their electrochemically active surface areas were 6.5, 10.6, and 83.2 m(2)  g(-1) for Pd nanotubes with 77, 101, and 150 nm wall thickness, respectively. These Pd nanotubes have great potential in fuel cells. The method demonstrated also opens up a way to synthesize hollow metal nanotubes.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 West Da-Zhi Street, Harbin 150001 (P. R. China).
authors.forename: Yinan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shenghua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Yingchun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D000431:Ethanol / Q000737:chemistry*; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D036103:Nanotechnology; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010165:Palladium / Q000737:chemistry*; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; D000431:Ethanol; D010165:Palladium; C070046:1,2-dioleoyloxy-3-(trimethylammonium)propane
keywords: electrocatalysis; lipids; nanotubes; palladium; template synthesis