Abstract
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Palladium-Nickel (Pd-Ni) hollow nanoparticles were synthesized via a modified galvanic
replacement method using Ni nanoparticles as sacrificial templates in an aqueous medium. X-ray
diffraction and transmission electron microscopy show that the as-synthesized nanoparticles are
alloyed nanostructures and have hollow interiors with an average particle size of 30 nm and shell
thickness of 5 nm. Compared with the commercially available Pt/C or Pd/C catalysts, the
synthesized PdNi/C has superior electrocatalytic performance towards the oxygen reduction
reaction, which makes it a promising electrocatalyst for alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel
cells and alkali-based air-batteries. The electrocatalyst is finally examined in an H2/O2 alkaline
anion exchange membrane fuel cell; the results show that such electrocatalysts could work in a
real fuel cell application as a more efficient catalyst than state-of-the-art commercially available
Pt/C.