Polyethylenimine-Ethylenediamine-Induced Pd Metallene toward Alkaline Oxygen Reduction
Ziqiang Wang, Shan Xu, Qiqi Mao, Kai Deng, You Xu, Hongjing Wang, Hongjie Yu, Liang Wang
Abstract
Designing two-dimensional (2D) materials functionalized with organic molecules is an effective tactic to enhance catalytic performances for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Herein, we synthesize Pd metallene with in situ modification of polyethylenimine-ethylenediamine (Pd@PEI-EDA metallene), in which PEI-EDA serves as both the structure-directing agent and modifier. Pd@PEI-EDA metallene has ample active sites and tuneable electronic structures due to ultrathin nanosheets with abundant wrinkles and interfacial structure. In contrast with commercial Pd/C and Pt/C, Pd@PEI-EDA metallene displays preferable catalytic ORR performance under alkaline conditions. This work offers an in situ interface engineering tactic for the preparation of 2D polymer-metal electrocatalysts to boost the ORR performance.