A facile method for the fabrication of hierarchical nanosized metal catalysts

Abstract Fabrication of well-defined metal nanoparticles with homogeneous distribution is of great importance to enhance the catalysts’ effectiveness and to minimize their cost. Here we report the electrodeposition of palladium on modified carbon substrates with an aryl-based organic monolayer and its electrocatalytic performance towards two model reactions with high involvement in energy storage and production systems, i.e. the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline medium. Main results indicate that the organic layer dramatically affects the growth, size and distribution of palladium nanoparticles on the conductive substrate, which provokes a great enhancement of the catalytic performance for both studied reactions. These results demonstrate the potential of synthetic methodology for cost-effective production of metallic catalysts.