Synthesis of a hierarchical three-component nanocomposite structure system with enhanced electrocatalytic and photoelectrical properties

Effective control over the morphology and size of Pd/Pt nanoparticles is currently of immense interest because their electronic, optical, and catalytic properties are superior to pure platinum nanoparticles. However, control over the nanoparticle shape is still challenging. Therefore, a novel design and synthetic route needs to be developed to obtain a high-performance catalyst. Herein, a hierarchical three-component nanocomposite structure system (HTNSS) composed of graphene, TiO(2), and Pd@Pt core-shell nanoparticles was designed and synthesized by a sequential strategy that focuses on constructing the monolithic structure rather than limited single-component counterparts. The resulting composites were characterized by various techniques, which showed that the Pd@Pt core-shell nanoparticles were preferentially deposited on the peripheral interface of the graphene and TiO(2) nanoparticles. The photoelectrical and catalytic performances were obviously improved relative to the commercially available E-TEK Pt/C owing to their synergistic effect.