Synthesis and electrocatalytic activity of highly porous hollow palladium nanoshells for oxygen reduction in alkaline solution

A series of hollow Pd nanoshells are prepared by employing Co nanoparticles as sacrificial templates with different concentrations of a Pd precursor (1, 6, 12, 20, and 40 mM K₂PdCl₄), denoted hPd-X (X: concentration of K₂PdCl₄ in mM unit). The synthesized hPd series are tested as a cathodic electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline solution. The morphology and surface area of the hPd catalysts are characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Rotating disk electrode (RDE) voltammetric studies show that the hPd-20 (prepared using 20 mM K₂PdCl₄) has the highest ORR activity among all the hPd series, while being comparable to commercial Pd and Pt catalysts (E-TEK). The more facilitated ORR at hPd-20 is presumably induced by the enhanced Pd surface area and efficiently high porosity of Pd nanoshells.