Surfactant-Directed Synthesis of Mesoporous Pd Films with Perpendicular Mesochannels as Efficient Electrocatalysts

Palladium (Pd) films with perpendicularly aligned mesochannels are expected to provide fascinating electrocatalytic properties due to their low diffusion resistance and the full utilization of their large surface area. There have been no studies on such mesoporous metal films, because of the difficulties in controlling both the vertical alignment of the molecular template and the crystal growth in the metallic pore walls. Here we report an effective approach for the synthesis of mesoporous Pd films with mesochannels perpendicularly aligned to the substrate by an elaborated electrochemical deposition. The films show a superior electrocatalytic activity by taking full advantage of the perpendicularly aligned mesochannels.