Remarkable Enhancement of Electrocatalytic Activity by Tuning the Interface of Pd-Au Bimetallic Nanoparticle Tubes

The interface, which formed In a bimetallic system, Is a critical issue to investigate the fundamental mechanism of enhanced catalytic activity. Here, we designed unsupported Pd-Au bimetallic nanoparticle tubes with a tunable interface, which was qualitatively controlled by the proportion of Pd and Au nanoparticles (NPs), to demonstrate the remarkably enhanced effect of Pd and Au NPs in electro-oxidation of ethanol. The results demonstrated that the electrocatalytic activity Is highly relative to the interface and has no direct relation with individual metal component in the Pd Au system. This effect helps us in achieving a fundamental understanding of the relationship between their activity and the interface structure and chemical properties and, consequently, is helpful in designing new catalysts with high performances.