Single Pt-Pd Bimetallic Nanoparticles Electrode: Controllable Fabrication and Unique Electrocatalytic Performance for the Methanol Oxidation Reaction.

Understanding of the electrocatalytic activity at single nanoparticles/nanoclusters level is extremely important. In this work, we describe a method for the electrodeposition of single Pt-Pd nanoparticles using single nanopore electrode as a template. The electrodeposition process has been investigated carefully and the results show that the process is controlled by the diffusion-controlled process and electro-crystallization process simultaneously, and the glass sheath property around nanopore has big impact on the formation of single Pt-Pd NPs due to the "edge effect". The prepared single Pt-Pd NPs exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity towards methanol oxidation reaction (MOR), which can be used to screen electro-catalysts with high efficiency for the utility in energy field.