High C1 selectivity in alkaline ethanol oxidation reaction over stable Lewis pairs of Pd-MxC@CNT (M = W, Mo and Cr)

A method through SMSI and heterostructure of Pd-MxC@CNT (M = W, Mo and Cr) to construct a stable Lewis acid-base pair was first proposed, showing good EOR activity, stability and C1 selectivity. The Pd-W2C@CNT nanomaterials exhibited the highest mass activity (13.9 A mgPd−1) and C1 selectivity (74.15%). This work not only developed a stable Lewis acid-base pair for electrocatalysis, but the introduction of stable Lewis acid-base pair opened up new ideas for the design of other catalytic reaction catalysts.