Methanol and ethanol electrooxidation on Pt and Pd supported on carbon microspheres in alkaline media

Noble metal (Pt, Pd) electrocatalysts supported on carbon microspheres (CMS) are used for methanol and ethanol oxidation in alkaline media. The results show that noble metal electrocatalysts supported on carbon microspheres give better performance than that supported on carbon black. It is well known that palladium is not a good electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation, but it shows excellently higher activity and better steady-state electrolysis than Pt for ethanol electrooxidation in alkaline media. The results show a synergistic effect by the interaction between Pd and carbon microspheres. The Pd supported on carbon microspheres in this paper possesses excellent electrocatalytic properties and may be of great potential in direct ethanol fuel cells.     

One‐Pot Synthesis of Carbon‐Supported Dendritic Pd‐Au Nanoalloys for Electrocatalytic Ethanol Oxidation

One‐pot synthesis of carbon‐supported Pd‐Au alloy nanoparticles with well‐defined dendritic shape (Pd‐Au_den/C) was achieved by co‐reduction of K₂PdCl₄/HAuCl₄ mixtures in a molar ratio of 1:1 with hydrazine in the presence of Vulcan XC‐72R. The prepared Pd‐Au_den/C exhibited significantly enhanced performance in the electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol compared with dendritic Pd nanoparticles and a commercial Pd/C catalyst. Pd‐Au_den/C even showed higher durability in electro‐oxidation of ethanol than the supported catalyst prepared by the deposition of presynthesized dendritic Pd‐Au nanoparticles on the carbon support. The experimental results clearly indicate that enhanced interaction between nanoparticle catalysts and carbon support through the one‐pot synthesis protocol can improve the durability of the electrocatalysts.     

Performance of Pd Electrocatalyst Supported on a Physical Mixture Indium Tin Oxide–carbon for Glycerol Electro–oxidation in Alkaline Media

Palladium electrocatalysts, supported on Vulcan XC 72 carbon and indium tin oxide (ITO) with different ratios, were prepared by borohydride reduction method and analysed for glycerol electro‐oxidation application in the presence of KOH solution. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were used to characterize the particle size and crystal electrocatalyst structures, whereas their catalytic activities regarding the glycerol electro‐oxidation were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry and tested in a direct alkaline glycerol fuel cell (DGFC) by electrochemical techniques. Micrographs results showed that the ITO presence promotes a large agglomeration of particles. Pd/C–ITO electrocatalysts showed peaks associated with the face‐centered cubic (fcc) structure of palladium and several others peaks associated with ITO used as support. Similar performance was found on all Pd/C–ITO electrocatalysts where measurements in CV were compared to Pd/C and Pd/ITO with Pd/C–ITO 50:50 chronoamperometry, presenting a better performance for glycerol electro‐oxidation. When using Pd/C–ITO 85:15 electrocatalyst and 1.0 mol L⁻¹ glycerol at 90 °C, the maximum power density found was 2,1 times higher than that obtained using Pd/C and Pd/CITO electrocatalysts. Therefore, the physical mixture of ITO and carbon, to be used as a support improves the electrocatalytic activity for glycerol oxidation reaction.     

Facile Synthesis of Carbon‐Supported Ultrasmall Ag@Pd Core‐Shell Nanocrystals with Superior Electrocatalytic Activity for Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cell Application

To design electrocatalysts with excellent performance, morphology, composition and structure is a decisive influential factor. In this work, ultrasmall Ag@Pd core‐shell nanocrystals supported on Vulcan XC72R carbon with different Ag/Pd atomic ratios are synthesized via a facile successive reduction approach with formaldehyde and ethylene glycol as reducing agents, respectively. The Ag‐core/Pd‐shell nanostructures are revealed by high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Ag@Pd core‐shell nanocrystals possess a narrow size distribution with an average size of ca. 4.3 nm. In comparison to monometallic Pd/C and commercial Pd black catalysts, such Ag@Pd core‐shell nanocrystals display excellent electrocatalytic activities for formic acid oxidation, which may be due to high Pd utilization derived from the formation of Ag@Pd core‐shell nanostructure and the strong interaction between Ag and Pd.     

A Nanoporous PdCo Alloy as a Highly Active Electrocatalyst for the Oxygen‐Reduction Reaction and Formic Acid Electrooxidation

A nanoporous (NP) PdCo alloy with uniform structure size and controllable bimetallic ratio was fabricated simply by one‐step mild dealloying of a PdCoAl precursor alloy. The as‐made alloy consists of a nanoscaled bicontinuous network skeleton with interconnected hollow channels that extend in all three dimensions. With a narrow ligament size distribution around 5 nm, the NP PdCo alloy exhibits much higher electrocatalytic activity towards the oxygen‐reduction reaction (ORR) with enhanced specific and mass activities relative to NP Pd and commercial Pt/C catalysts. A long‐term stability test demonstrated that NP PdCo has comparable catalytic durability with less loss of ORR activity and electrochemical surface area than Pt/C. The NP PdCo alloy also shows dramatically enhanced catalytic activity towards formic acid electrooxidation relative to NP Pd and Pd/C catalysts. The as‐made NP PdCo holds great application potential as a promising cathode as well as an anode electrocatalyst in fuel cells with the advantages of superior catalytic performance and easy preparation.     

负载于刻蚀镍泡沫上钯纳米粒子作为乙醇氧化高性能电催化剂

发展具有高催化活性和高稳定性的非Pt阳极催化剂目前仍面临着巨大的挑战. 除了设计催化剂以外,设计合适的载体对提高电催化剂性能也具有重要意义. 在这篇论文中,作者报导了一种以混合酸(HNO₃+H₂SO₄+H₃PO₄+CH₃COOH) 腐蚀的镍泡沫负载Pd纳米粒子作为高性能电催化剂用于碱性条件下乙醇氧化. 因具有开放孔结构、快速电解质渗透能力及快速的电荷传输性能,这些镍泡沫负载的Pd纳米粒子显示了很好的电催化活性和循环稳定性,显示了该材料在乙醇阳极氧化具有较好的应用前景.     

Facile Synthesis of PdCu Echinus‐Like Nanocrystals as Robust Electrocatalysts for Methanol Oxidation Reaction

Exploiting high‐performance and inexpensive electrocatalysts for methanol electro‐oxidation is conductive to promoting the commercial application of direct methanol fuel cells. Here, we present a facile synthesis of echinus‐like PdCu nanocrystals (NCs) via a one‐step and template‐free method. The echinus‐like PdCu NCs possess numerous straight and long branches which can provide abundant catalytic active sites. Owing to the novel nanoarchitecture and electronic effect of the PdCu alloy, the echinus‐like PdCu NCs display high electrocatalytic performance toward methanol oxidation reaction in an alkaline medium. The mass activity of echinus‐like PdCu NCs is 1202.1 mA mg_Pd^?1, which is 3.7 times that of Pd/C catalysts. In addition, the echinus‐like structure, as a kind of three‐dimensional self‐supported nanoarchitecture, endows PdCu NCs with significantly enhanced stability and durability. Hence, the echinus‐like PdCu NCs hold prospect of being employed as electrocatalysts for direct alcohol fuel cells.     

Carbon-supported Pd-Co as cathode catalyst for APEMFCs and validation by DFT

Carbon supported PdCo catalysts in varying atomic ratios of Pd to Co, namely 1 : 1, 2 : 1 and 3 : 1, were prepared. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was studied on commercial carbon-supported Pd and carbon-supported PdCo nanocatalysts in aqueous 0.1 M KOH solution with and without methanol. The structure, dispersion, electrochemical characterization and surface area of PdCo/C were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), respectively. The electrochemical activity for ORR was evaluated from Linear Sweep Voltammograms (LSV) obtained using a rotating ring disk electrode. The catalysts were evaluated for their electrocatalytic activity towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in Alkaline Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (APEMFCs). PdCo(3 : 1)/C gives higher performance (85 mW cm(-2)) than PdCo(1 : 1)/C, PdCo(2 : 1)/C and Pd/C. The maximum electrocatalytic activity for ORR in the presence of methanol was observed for PdCo(3 : 1)/C. First principles calculations within the framework of density functional theory were performed to understand the origin of its catalytic activity based on the energy of adsorption of an O(2) molecule on the cluster, structural variation and charge transfer mechanism.     

Ordered PdCu‐Based Nanoparticles as Bifunctional Oxygen‐Reduction and Ethanol‐Oxidation Electrocatalysts

The development of superior non‐platinum electrocatalysts for enhancing the electrocatalytic activity and stability for the oxygen‐reduction reaction (ORR) and liquid fuel oxidation reaction is very important for the commercialization of fuel cells, but still a great challenge. Herein, we demonstrate a new colloidal chemistry technique for making structurally ordered PdCu‐based nanoparticles (NPs) with composition control from PdCu to PdCuNi and PtCuCo. Under the dual tuning on the composition and intermetallic phase, the ordered PdCuCo NPs exhibit better activity and much enhanced stability for ORR and ethanol‐oxidation reaction (EOR) than those of disordered PdCuM NPs, the commercial Pt/C and Pd/C catalysts. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the improved ORR activity on the PdCuM NPs stems from the catalytically active hollow sites arising from the ligand effect and the compressive strain on the Pd surface owing to the smaller atomic size of Cu, Co, and Ni.     

Electrocatalytic oxidation of formic acid on functional MWCNTs supported nanostructured Pd–Au catalyst

In this work, PdAu nanocatalysts with different weight ratio of Pd and Au supported on functional multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs) were prepared, and their electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of formic acid was also studied. The electrocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrochemical results showed that the 4Pd1Au/f-MWCNTs (by weight) catalyst, exhibited distinctly higher activity and better stability in formic acid electrooxidation than the Pd/f-MWCNTs catalyst. The Nano-Au improves potentially the performance of Pd-based electrocatalysts for the direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFCs).     

PVP封端剂对Pd纳米晶电催化氧化甲醇和乙醇性能的影响

Direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) have attracted considerable research interest because of their potential application as alternative power sources for automotive systems and portable electronics. Pd-based catalysts represent one of the most popular catalysts for DAFCs due to their excellent electrocatalytic activities in alkaline electrolytes. Thus, it is of great importance to understand the structure-activity relationship of Pd electrocatalysts for alcohol electrocatalysis. Recently, size- and shape- controlled Pd nanocrystals have been successfully synthesized and subsequently used to study the size and shape effects of Pd electrocatalysts on alcohol electrocatalysis, in which the Pd (100) facet exhibited higher electrocatalytic oxidation activity for small alcohol molecules than the Pd (111) and (110) facets. Although it is well known that capping ligands, which are widely used in wet chemistry for the size- and shape-controlled synthesis of metal nanocrystals, likely chemisorb onto the surfaces of the resulting metal nanocrystals and influence their surface structure and surface-mediated properties, such as catalysis, this issue was not considered in previous studies of Pd nanocrystal electrocatalysts for electrocatalytic oxidation of small alcohol molecules. In this study, we prepared polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-capped Pd nanocrystals with different morphologies and sizes and comparatively studied their electrocatalytic activities for methanol and ethanol oxidation in alkaline solutions. The chemisorbed PVP molecules transferred charge to the Pd nanocrystals, and the finer Pd nanocrystals had a higher coverage of chemisorbed PVP, and thus exposed fewer accessible surface sites, experienced more extensive PVP-to-Pd charge transfer, and were more negatively charged. The intrinsic electrocatalytic activity, represented by the electrochemical surface area (ECSA)-normalized electrocatalytic activity, of Pd nanocubes with exposed (100) facets increases with the particle size, indicating that the more negatively-charged Pd surface is less electrocatalytically active. The Pd nanocubes with average sizes between 12 and 19 nm are intrinsically more electrocatalytically active than commercial Pd black electrocatalysts, while the activity of Pd nanocubes with an averages size of 8 nm is less. This suggests that the enhancement effect of the exposed (100) facets surpasses the deteriorative effect of the negatively charged Pd surface for the Pd nanocubes with average sizes between 12 and 19 nm, whereas the deteriorative effect of the negatively charged Pd surface surpasses the enhancement effect of the exposed (100) facets for the Pd nanocubes with average sizes of 8 nm due to the extensive PVP-to-Pd charge transfer. Moreover, the Pd nanocubes with average sizes of 8 nm exhibit similar intrinsic electrocatalytic activity to the Pd nanooctahedra with (111) facets exposed and average sizes of 7 nm, indicating that the electronic structure of Pd electrocatalysts plays a more important role in influencing the electrocatalytic activity than the exposed facet. Since the chemisorbed PVP molecules block the surface sites on Pd nanocrystals that are accessible to the reactants, all Pd nanocrystals exhibit lower mass-normalized electrocatalytic activity than the Pd black electrocatalysts, and the mass-normalized electrocatalytic activity increases with the ECSA. These results clearly demonstrate that the size- and shape-dependent electrocatalytic activity of Pd nanocrystals capped with PVP for methanol and ethanol oxidation should be attributed to both the exposed facets of the Pd nanocrystals and the size-dependent electronic structures of the Pd nanocrystals resulting from the size-dependent PVP coverage and PVP-to-Pd charge transfer. Therefore, capping ligands on capped metal nanocrystals inevitably influence their surface structures and surface-mediated properties, which must be considered for a comprehensive understanding of the structure-activity relationship of capped metal nanocrystals.     

PdCoIr四面体合金纳米催化剂的制备及其对乙醇氧化的电催化性能

钯(Pd)基催化剂是直接乙醇燃料电池研究中广泛使用的催化剂,进一步提升其性能是推动燃料电池发展的重要方向.本文用一步水热法制备出四面体结构PdCo(PdCo tetrahedron,记为PdCo-TH)和少量铱(Ir)掺杂的PdCo四面体合金纳米粒子(记为PdCoIr-TH).经TEM、ICP、XPS 及CV 等表征证...     

Pd/C promoted by Au for 2-propanol electrooxidation in alkaline media

Pd/C catalysts promoted by Au are investigated as electrocatalysts for the direct 2-propanol fuel cells in alkaline media. The results show that Pd is a good electrocatalyst for 2-propanol oxidation and the activity for 2-propanol electrooxidation is higher than that for methanol electrooxidation on the Pd/C electrocatalysts in alkaline media. Addition of Au can significantly increase the palladium catalytic activity and stability for the 2-propanol oxidation. PdAu4:1/C has higher electrocatalytic activity and better stability for the electrooxidation of 2-propanol than Pd/C and E-TEK Pt/C electrocatalysts. The present study shows the promising properties of Au promoted Pd/C as effective electrocatalysts for 2-propanol fuel based direct alcohol fuel cells.     

有机溶胶法制备直接甲酸燃料电池用Pd/C阳极催化剂

采用改进的有机溶胶法制备了用于直接甲酸燃料电池(DFAFC)中甲酸氧化的炭载Pd(Pd/C)催化剂。制备Pd/C催化剂时,以乙醇作溶剂,SnCl2作还原剂。控制溶剂的蒸发温度就能控制Pd/C催化剂中Pd粒子的平均粒径和相对结晶度。溶剂蒸发温度与Pd/C催化剂中Pd粒子的平均粒径和相对结晶度不成正比关系。在选择合适的溶剂蒸发温度时,能制得Pd粒子的平均粒径至6.5 nm和相对结晶度至2.85的Pd/C催化剂。比较了具有不同Pd粒子的平均粒径和相对结晶度的Pd/C催化剂对甲酸氧化的电催化性能。结果发现,Pd粒子的平均粒径小和相对结晶度低的Pd/C催化剂对甲酸氧化有好的电催化性能。     

多壁碳纳米管负载Pd-Ni电催化剂对乙二醇的电催化氧化

采用微波加热还原法制备了不同化学计量比的Pd-Ni复合多壁碳纳米管(Pd-Ni/MWCNT)催化剂. 通过X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电镜(TEM)和能量散射谱(EDS)等微结构和组成表征表明, 所合成的催化剂中Pd-Ni合金具有较小的纳米颗粒以及较好的分散程度. 循环伏安(CV)、线性扫描(LSV)、计时电流方法(CA)和交流阻抗(EIS)等测试表明, Pd-Ni(3:1)/MWCNT催化剂对乙二醇的电化学氧化具有较高的催化活性.     

金属钯插层类水滑石的制备及其电催化乙醇的性能研究

高性能的电催化剂对直接燃料电池的商业化应用有着至关重要的作用,目前的阳极材料还存在活性低、易中毒、成本高等问题。本研究以层状双氢氧化物(layered double hydroxides, LDHs)为载体通过浸渍法制备了新型纳米钯(Pd)催化剂,并通过X射线衍射仪、扫描电子显微镜、电感耦合等离子体质谱仪、能谱仪、透射电子显微镜、循环伏安法测试、计时电流测试和电化学阻抗等方法对催化剂的结构和电催化性能进行了研究。结果表明,新制备的Pd/Mg-Al-LDHs仍然保持着LDHs的层状结构,循环伏安测试表明在碱性条件下,Pd/Mg-Al-LDHs比Pd/C有更好的电催化乙醇活性和抗中间产物中毒性能,且乙醇浓度、扫描速率和温度等因素对峰电流有着直接影响。计时电流测试表明在电催化乙醇的过程中Pd/Mg-Al-LDHs比Pd/C拥有更高的电催化活性和稳定性。电化学阻抗测试表明,Pd插层可显著改善Mg-Al-LDHs的导电性,并降低电催化过程中电荷转移阻力。     

Pd/Pt core–shell nanowire arrays as highly effective electrocatalysts for methanol electrooxidation in direct methanol fuel cells

Highly ordered Pd/Pt–core–shell nanowire arrays (Pd/Pt NWAs) have been prepared by anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) template-electrodeposition and magnetron sputtering methods. Pd/Pt NWA electrode shows a very high electrochemical active surface area and high electrocatalytic activity for the methanol electrooxidation in acid medium for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The mass specific anodic peak current density is 756.7 mA mg⁻¹ Pt for the methanol oxidation on the Pd/Pt NWA electrode, an increase by a factor of four as compared to conventional E-TEK PtRu/C electrocatalysts. The mechanism of the significant enhancement of the Pd/Pt core/shell NWA nanostructure in the efficiency and electrocatalytic activity of Pt for the methanol electrooxidation in acid medium is discussed.     

Porous Pt-Ni-P composite nanotube arrays: highly electroactive and durable catalysts for methanol electrooxidation

Porous Pt-Ni-P composite nanotube arrays (NTAs) on a conductive substrate in good solid contact are successfully synthesized via template-assisted electrodeposition and show high electrochemical activity and long-term stability for methanol electrooxidation. Hollow nanotubular structures, porous nanostructures, and synergistic electronic effects of various elements contribute to the high electrocatalytic performance of porous Pt-Ni-P composite NTA electrocatalysts.     

电解液中的乙二胺四甲叉膦酸对甲酸在炭载Pd催化剂上电氧化性能的影响

利用X射线能量色散(EDS)谱、X射线衍射(XRD)谱、透射电子显微镜(TEM)和电化学等技术研究了在电解液中添加乙二胺四甲叉膦酸(EDTMP)对甲酸在Pd/C催化剂上电氧化性能的影响. 结果表明, 当EDTMP添加的浓度为0.5 mmol/L时, Pd/C催化剂对甲酸氧化的电催化活性和稳定性最好. 这主要归结于吸附在Pd/C催化剂表面的EDTMP不但能通过基团效应降低CO的吸附量, 还能抑制Pd/C催化剂催化甲酸分解的速率, 从而减少了CO的毒化作用. 但当EDTMP的浓度大于0.5 mmol/L时, 吸附过多的EDTMP反而会占据Pd的活性位点, 降低催化作用.     

Electrocatalytic activity of Pd nanoparticles supported on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-graphene hybrid for ethanol electrooxidation

The support materials play a critical role for the electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol on precious metal catalysts in fuel cells. Here, we report the poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) combined with reduced graphene oxide (PEDOT-RGO) as the support of Pd nanoparticles (NPs) for ethanol electrooxidation in alkaline medium. The as-prepared Pd/PEDOT-RGO composite catalysts are characterized by Raman spectrometer, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microcopy, and scanning electron microcopy. PEDOT-RGO composite with the porous structure facilitates the dispersion of Pd NPs with a smaller size leading to the increase of electrochemical active surface area. The electrochemical properties and electrocatalytic activities of Pd/PEDOT-RGO hybrid are evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, CO stripping voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Tafel analysis. The results suggest that Pd/PEDOT-RGO hybrid shows a higher electrocatalytic activity, a better long-term stability, and the poisoning tolerance for the ethanol electrooxidation than Pd on carbon black. EIS and Tafel analysis indicate that PEDOT-RGO improves the kinetics of ethanol electrooxidation on the Pd NPs and is an efficient support in fuel cells.