Palladium–Cobalt Nanowires Decorated with Jagged Appearance for Efficient Methanol Electro-oxidation

Inexpensive, active, stable, and CO-tolerant nonplatinum catalysts for efficient methanol electro-oxidation are highly desirable to direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology; however, it is still challenging. In this study, we report palladium and cobalt nanowires with jagged appearance (Pd-Co J-NWs), synthesized via first anodic-aluminum-oxide template-confined electrodeposition of Pd-Co regular nanowires, followed by a wet-chemical transformation. Benefiting from the "jagged" appearance and Co dopants, the mass and specific activities of Pd-Co J-NWs for methanol electro-oxidation are evaluated ∼3.2 times and ∼2.1 times as high as those of Pd/C catalysts, respectively. After chronoamperometric measurements for 2000 s, the catalytic stability of Pd-Co J-NWs is ∼5.4 times higher compared to that of commercial Pd/C. Moreover, the onset potential of CO-stripping of Pd-Co J-NWs (0.5 V) is lower than that of Pd/C (0.7 V), suggesting CO antipoisoning. Our approach to Pd-Co J-NWs catalysts provides an experimental guideline for designing other high-performance nonplatinum catalysts, which is promising for future DMFC industry.