Electroless Deposition of Nickel Nanowire and Nanotube Arrays as Supports for Pt-Pd Catalyst for Ethanol Electrooxidation

Nickel nanowire and nanotube arrays as supports for Pt-Pd catalyst were prepared by electroless deposition with anodic aluminum oxide template. Pt-Pd composite catalyst was deposited on the arrays by displacement reaction. SEM images show that the nickel nanowires have an average diameter of 100 nm and the nickel nanotubes have an average inner diameter of 200 nm. EDS scanning reveals that elemental Pt and Pd disperse uniformly on the arrays. Cyclic voltammetry study indicates that the nickel nanotube array loaded with Pt-Pd possesses a higher electrochemical activity for ethanol oxidation than the nickel nanowire array with Pt-Pd.