Mxene coupled over nitrogen-doped graphene anchoring palladium nanocrystals as an advanced electrocatalyst for the ethanol electrooxidation.

Development of good support materials is widely adopted as a valid strategy to fabricate high performance electrocatalysts for the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). In this study, the small diameter TiCT MXene thin nanosheets inserted into three-dimensional nitrogen-doped grapheme (NG) was constructed via a facile hydrothermal method and employed as support materials for anchoring Pd nanocrystals (Pd/TiCT@NG). The obtained-Pd/TiCT@NG as EOR electrocatalyst in alkaline media outperforms the commercial Pd/C with better electrocatalytic activity, enhanced long-term stability and high CO tolerance. The TiCT inserted into NG probably plays a key role for enhancing the properties of the synthesized-catalyst. Inserting TiCT into NG allows the electrocatalysts to have high porosity, surface hydrophilicity, sufficient number of anchor sites for Pd nanocrystals and modifies its electronic properties, which can promote the electrocatalytic activity and durability. The enhanced EOR performance endows Pd/TiCT@NG with great application potential in fuel cells as an anode catalyst. Furthermore, the prepared TiCT@NG is also suitable in various desired applications, especially other oxidation reactions.