Nanoporous palladium synthesised by dealloying Al₇₂Pd₂₀Mn₈ quasicrystal for electrochemical applications

A new sort of nanoporous palladium has been synthesised by electrochemical dealloying icosahedral Al72Pd20Mn8 quasicrystal. A nanoporous cell-like pattern is formed in the dealloyed samples, with a mean pole size of 8 nm and a cell wall thickness of similar to 5 nm. The quasicrystal grains decompose into randomly orientated FCC Pd(Al) nanocrystals in the initial stage of dealloying, which assumes a prior mechanism accounting for the final microstructure size. The nanoporous palladium exhibits evident electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of ethanol and methanol in alkaline environment, and demonstrates the possible application as a cathode material in Li-O-2 batteries.