Graphene-supported palladium phosphide PdP2 nanocrystals for ethanol electrooxidation

•A new procedure was developed to produce single-phase PdP2 crystals in the nanometer size region.•PdP2/rGO showed excellent electrocatalytic performance towards ethanol oxidation reaction.•PdP2 nanocrystals supported on reduced graphene oxide showed excellent performances, comparable to the best Pt- and Pd- based catalysts.•PdP2 and PdP2/rGO catalysts demonstrated improved stability when compared with Pd and Pd/rGO.