Synergistic morphology and doping engineering of PdBP nanocubes as efficient and stable electrocatalysts for fuel oxidation

To address the challenges of low activity and inadequate durability of Pd-based catalysts in liquid fuel cells, this study designed Pd-based nanoalloy catalysts featuring a tailored cubic morphology and co-doping with non-metallic elements B and P. The aim is to synergistically enhance the catalytic performance of the electrode materials through morphology control and electronic engineering optimization—specifically, by regulating the atomic structure of the electrode materials. The ternary PdBP nanocubes (NCs) synthesized herein exhibit the most prominent electrocatalytic performance toward formic acid oxidation, with a mass activity of 1234.10 mA mg−1_Pd, which is 2.31 times that of Pd/C. After 500-cycle accelerated durability test (ADT), the peak current retention rate of PdBP NCs is far higher than that of Pd/C, reaching 17.75 times the latter, confirming their exceptional stability. The enhanced performance of PdBP NCs stems from the synergistic effect of their cubic morphology—which suppresses particle agglomeration—and B/P co-doping, which modulates electronic structure of Pd to mitigate CO poisoning while expanding active site density via defect engineering. Notably, this B/P co-doped alloy catalyst (PdBP NCs) also demonstrates significant improvements in alcohol oxidation reactions (AOR). Our evaluation of its electrocatalytic behavior towards methanol and ethanol oxidation confirms its satisfactory catalytic activity. This work not only provides a high-performance anode catalyst for DFAFCs but also offers a universal strategy for developing efficient noble metal alloy catalysts applicable to diverse fuel oxidation reactions, thereby facilitating the advancement of sustainable energy conversion technologies.