Nanocrystaline tungsten carbide supported Au–Pd electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction

Au–Pd nanobimetallic particles supported on nanocrystaline tungsten carbide as electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction were prepared by an intermittent microwave heating (IMH) method. XRD measurement revealed that AuPd alloy formed during the IMH process. We showed these novel electrocatalysts could offer the activities that surpass that of the state-of-the-art Pt-based electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction. The AuPd–WC/C electrode showed an over 70 mV shift towards more positive potentials compared to Pt/C electrode for ORR. The advantage seemed to come from the novel support of tungsten carbide which itself has the catalytic activity to enhance the catalytic activity of the metal electrocatalysts.