Joule-heating synthesis of Pd/C catalysts with excellent electrocatalytic performance.

Developing high-performance electrocatalysts is essential for the commercialization of fuel cells, but commercial catalysts are still far from satisfactory in terms of their catalytic activity and stability. Herein, we report a convenient solid-phase synthesis strategy that couples ball milling with rapid Joule-heating to prepare fine palladium nanoparticles supported on a carbon substrate (Pd/C). Compared to the commercial Pd/C catalyst, the as-synthesized Pd/C catalyst shows excellent catalytic performance for typical electrochemical reactions, e.g., the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) and the formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR). We emphasize the multi-dimensional comparison of the obtained Pd/C product and commercial catalysts to illustrate the potential advantages of the synthesis method in industrial applications.