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Monodispersed bimetallic PdAg nanoparticles can be fabricated through the emulsion-assisted ethylene glycol (EG) ternary system. Different compositions of bimetallic PdAg nanoparticles, Pd80Ag20, Pd65Ag35 and Pd46Ag54 can be obtained via adjusting the reaction parameters. For the formation process of the bimetallic PdAg nanoparticles, there have two-stage growth processes: firstly, nucleation and growth of the primary nanoclusters; secondly, formation of the secondary nanoparticles with the size-selection and relax process via the coalescence or aggregation of the primary nanoclusters. The as-prepared PdAg can be supported on the carbon black without any post-treatment, which exhibited high electro-oxidation activity towards methanol oxidation under alkaline media. More importantly, carbon-supported Pd80Ag20 nanoparticles reveal distinctly superior activities for the methanol oxidation, even if compared with commercial Pt/C electro-catalyst. It is concluded that the enhanced activity is dependant on the unique twinning structure with heterogeneous phase due to the dominating coalescence growth in EG ternary system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyhedral noble-metal nanocrystals have received much attention and wide applications as electrical and optical devices as well as catalysts. In this work, a straightforward and effective hydrothermal route for the controllable synthesis of the high-quality Pd-Ag alloy polyhedrons with uniform size is presented. The morphology, composition and structure of the Pd-Ag alloy polyhedrons are fully characterized by the various physical techniques, demonstrating the Pd-Ag alloy polyhedrons are highly alloying. The formation/growth mechanisms of the Pd-Ag alloy polyhedrons are explored and discussed based on the experimental observations and discussions. As a preliminary electrochemical application, the Pd-Ag alloy polyhedrons are applied in the formic acid oxidation reaction, which shows higher electrocatalytic activity and stability than commercially available Pd black due to the 'synergistic effects' between Pd and Ag atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]