Preparation, structure, and stability of Pt and Pd monolayer modified Pd and Pt electrocatalysts

A controlled surface reaction technique has been successfully employed to prepare a series of Pt modified Pd/C (Pt/Pd/C) and Pd modified Pt/C (Pd/Pt/C) catalysts. The resulting catalyst materials were characterised by TEM, XRD, electrochemistry, and EXAFS techniques. In the case of the Pd/Pt/C carbon catalysts, core–shell structural arrangements were found, with a 0.04 Å contraction of the Pd–Pd bond distance for the 1 Pd/Pt/C being observed. A greater degree of alloying was found for the Pt/Pd/C catalysts where the surface had a mixed composition with a large proportion of the Pt in the interior of the nanoparticle. However, strong Pt characteristics were exhibited in the voltammetry of Pt/Pd/C catalysts, most notably a large increase in the stability with respect to the electrochemical environment compared to Pd alone.