Pd Nanoparticles Anchored on Carbon Nanotubes/Covalent Organic Frameworks for Catalytic Ethanol Electrooxidation
Xiaoping Tan, Rui Wu, Qianhua Zhu, Quan Gou, Yibin Zhang, Huisheng Huang, Liang Fu
Abstract
Although there have been tremendous improvements in fabricating metal nanoparticle-functionalized two-dimensional (2D) heterogeneous materials, an effective strategy for loading ultrafine-sized metal nanoparticles with high catalytic performance and stability remains a challenge. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a promising candidate template for the synthesis of decentralized metal nanomaterials with ultrafine diameters. In this study, an in situ grown nanocomposite (CNT-COF) of a COF on a carbon nanotube (CNT) has been prepared and applied in the synthesis of Pd nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution (denoted as CNT-COF-Pd). The 2D heterogeneous nanomaterial CNT-COF-Pd shows strong catalytic performance toward the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) in direct-ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs). The superior catalytic activity can be attributed to the strong coordination effect between the N atoms inside the cavities of the COF and Pd and the special electrical property of the CNT. We anticipate that such COF-supported ultrafine Pd nanoparticles will be a new 2D heterogeneous catalyst in DEFCs and other fields.