Scale-Up Process of Core@Shell Monolayer Catalyst without Active Potential Control through Electroless Underpotential Deposition Galvanic Replacement

Core@shell monolayer catalysts have dual advantages in electrocatalysis, cost of the catalyst is minimized by depositing expensive metal as a monolayer shell and the catalytic activity can be enhanced by selecting an appropriate core metal. In this communication, a novel chemically assisted underpotential deposition process to fabricate core@shell monolayer nanoparticles in bulk scale has been introduced. Ag(shell)@Pd(core)/C nanoparticles have been prepared by this electroless underpotential deposition method. The thickness of the Ag shell has been calculated as one atomic layer from XPS analysis. Core-shell structure of nanoparticles has been confirmed by STEM characterization. Further, Pt(shell)@Pd(core)/C nanoparticles have been engineered from Ag@Pd/C nanoparticles by Galvanic replacement of Ag by Pt. This Pt@Pd/C electrocatalyst has been tested for formic acid oxidation.