A facile preparation of carbon-supported Pd nanoparticles for electrocatalytic oxidation of formic acid

A low temperature approach via the complexing of PdCl₂ with EDTA followed by NaBH₄ reduction has been used to prepare Vulcan XC-72 carbon-supported Pd nanoparticles (Pd/C). The mean particle size of the Pd/C catalysts is found to increase from 3.3 to 9.2 nm with heat-treated temperature. TEM images demonstrated that the Pd nanoparticles are well dispersed on the support with a relatively narrow particle size distribution. A correlation between the electrocatalytic activity of formic acid oxidation and particle size of the Pd/C catalysts indicates that the highest activity of formic acid oxidation is found with a Pd mean particle size of ca. 4.7 nm. The preparation method used here is cost-effective and should be easily scaled for industrial production.     

Pd Nanostructures with High Tolerance to CO Poisoning in the Formic Acid Electrooxidation Reaction

Pd architectures such as nanobars and nanoparticles were synthetized by the polyol method using di-ethylene glycol as reaction media. The morphology, composition and electrocatalytic properties were investigated by transmission electronmicroscopy (TEM), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electrochemical measurements. The electrocatalytic activity of Pd nanostructures was tested in terms of formic acid electrooxidation reaction (FAOR) in acid media (0.5 M H₂SO₄) and compared with commercial Pd/XC-72 (Pd/C). Results from the electrochemical studies showed that Pdnanobars (PdNB/C) presented higher tolerance to the CO and CO₂ poisoning effect compared with Pd nanoparticles (PdNP/C) and commercial Pd/C. Furthermore, the onset potential toward formic acid electrooxidation at high concentration (1 M) on PdNB/C exhibited a negative shift ca. 100 mV compared with commercial Pd/C. Finally, PdNB/C in the presence of 1 M FA showed a lower poisoning degree compared with commercial Pd/C and PdNP/C.     

Synthesis of highly dispersed Pd/C electro-catalyst with high activity for formic acid oxidation

In this study, we present a simple process to obtain highly dispersed palladium nanoparticles on Vulcan XC-72R carbon support without any protective agent. To obtain high metal loading Pd/C catalyst without any surfactant, we modified the polyol process by employing NH₃ species as a mediation to control the reaction pathway to avoid the precipitation of Pd(OH)₂, and hence the agglomeration of Pd nanoparticles. The obtained Pd/C sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) techniques. The results show that highly dispersed Pd/C catalyst with an average diameter of 3.0 nm could be obtained in this novel process. The activity of formic acid oxidation on this Pd/C catalyst was examined via cyclic voltammetry technique and it is found that the catalytic activity is greatly enhanced due to the reduced particle size and the improved dispersion of palladium nanoparticles on the carbon surface.     

Physical and electrochemical characterizations of nanostructured Pd/C and PdNi/C catalysts for methanol oxidation

Pd and PdNi nanoparticles supported on Vulcan XC-72 carbon were prepared by a chemical reduction with formic acid process. The catalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), cyclic voltammetry, and chronoamperometry. The results showed that the Pd and PdNi nanoparticles, which were uniformly dispersed on carbon, were 2–10 nm in diameters. The PdNi/C catalyst has higher electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation in alkaline media than a comparative Pd/C catalyst and shows great potential as less expensive electrocatalyst for methanol electrooxidation in alkaline media in direct methanol fuel cells.     

Catalytic oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Oxidation of o-xylene over Pd and Pt/HFAU catalysts

The transformation of o-xylene in low concentration (1 700 ppmv) into air was investigated over Pd and Pt/HFAU catalysts (framework Si/Al ratio equal to 17 and 100). Whatever the catalyst, o-xylene oxidation into CO₂ and H₂O is accompanied by the retention within the zeolite pores of heavy compounds (‘coke’). The relative significance of these reactions depends on the operating conditions (temperature, time-on-stream) and on the catalyst characteristics (Pd or Pt, Si/Al ratio). Over Pt and Pd/HFAU(17), time-on-stream has a positive effect on the xylene oxidation apparently related to the reducibility of Pd and Pt species during the reaction. The higher activity of Pt/HFAU catalysts can be attributed to its greater number of active species (especially Pt⁰). Those active species can be more rapidly formed than Pd⁰ by auto reduction during the calcination of Pt precursor. Whatever the metal, the higher the Si/Al ratio of the support, the faster the xylene oxidation and the lower the coke formation. This can be related to the higher proportion of reduced species (Pd⁰ and Pt⁰) formed on the more dealuminated catalyst but also to the hydrophobicity of the support. Indeed, the hydrophobicity of the zeolite play a positive role in the oxidation activity in presence of steam; the higher the Si/Al ratio of the zeolite, the faster the o-xylene oxidation. Thus a catalyst with a low platinum content supported on a hydrophobic zeolite (0.10 Pt/HFAU(100)) allows to oxidising totally o-xylene at 210 °C in presence of steam.     

Electrocatalytic performance of PdCo–C catalyst for formic acid oxidation

PdCo–C catalyst was synthesized through a simple simultaneous reduction reaction with sodium borohydride in aqueous solution. Inductive coupled plasma emission spectrometer (ICP) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) technologies had been used to characterize the PdCo–C catalyst and proved that the amount of Co was 1.5 wt%, PdCo alloy was formed and possessed face-centered cubic (fcc) crystalline structure, and the average particle size was about 5.1 nm. The electrochemical tests (cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA)) showed that the addition of Co could significantly improve the electrocatalytic activity and stability. The enhancement of electrocatalytic activity and stability was mainly ascribed to the interaction between Pd and additive Co, which facilitated the oxidation reaction of formic acid in direct pathway.     

Oxygen reduction reaction on the low index planes of palladium electrodes modified with a monolayer of platinum film

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has been studied on the low index planes of Pd modified with a monolayer of Pt (Pt/Pd(hkl)) in 0.1 M HClO₄ with the use of hanging meniscus rotating disk electrode. The activity for ORR on bare Pd(hkl) electrode depends on the surface structure strongly, however, voltammograms of ORR on Pt/Pd(hkl) electrodes do not depend on the crystal orientation. The specific activities of Pt/Pd(hkl) electrodes at 0.90 V (RHE) are higher than that on Pt(1 1 0) which has the highest activity for ORR in the low index planes of Pt. The mass activity on Pt/Pd(hkl) electrode is 7 times as high as a commercial Pt/C catalyst.     

Preparation of carbon supported Pd–P catalyst with high content of element phosphorus and its electrocatalytic performance for formic acid oxidation

The carbon supported Pd–P (Pd–P/C) anodic catalyst in direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC) was prepared with a novel phosphorus reduction method. The Pd–P/C catalyst obtained possesses the high content of P⁰ in the alloying state. Because alloying P⁰ could decrease the 3d electron density of Pd and the adsorption affinity of CO and H on Pd, alloying P⁰ would promote the formic acid (FA) oxidation through the direct pathway. Therefore, the electrocatalytic performance of the Pd–P/C catalyst for the FA oxidation is much better than that of the Pd/C catalyst.     

Activity of Pt anode catalyst modified by underpotential deposited Pb in a direct formic acid fuel cell

We characterized the electrocatalytic activity of platinum electrode modified by underpotential deposited lead (PtPb_upd) for a formic acid (HCOOH) oxidation and investigated the influence on the power performance of direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFC). Based on the electrochemical analysis using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry, PtPb_upd electrode modified by underpotential deposition (UPD) exhibited significantly enhanced catalytic activity for HCOOH oxidation below anodic overpotential of 0.4 V (vs. SCE). Multi-layered PtPb_upd electrode structure of Pt/Pb_upd/Pt resulted in more stable and enhanced performance using 50% reduced loading of anode catalyst. The performance of multi-layered PtPb_upd anode is about 120 mW/cm² at 0.4 V and it also showed a sustainable cell activity of 0.52 V at an application of constant current loading of 110 mA/cm².     

Structural effects on the oxidation of formic acid on the high index planes of palladium

Electrochemical oxidation of formic acid has been studied on the stepped and kinked-stepped surfaces of Pd in 0.1 M HClO₄ containing 0.1 M formic acid with the use of voltammetry. The surfaces examined are Pd(S)-[n(1 0 0) × (1 1 0)], Pd(S)-[n(1 1 1) × (1 0 0)] and Pd(S)-[n(1 1 1) × (1 1 1)] series (n = 2–9). The results are compared with those of Pd(S)-[n(1 0 0) × (1 1 1)] series reported previously. All the electrodes give maximum currents of formic acid oxidation j_P between 0.5 and 0.8 V (RHE). The values of j_P plotted against the density of step (kink) atoms d_S depend on the surface structure remarkably. Pd(S)-[n(1 1 1) × (1 0 0)] surfaces provide maximum of j_P at n = 5, whereas Pd(S)-[n(1 0 0) × (1 1 0)] and Pd(S)-[n(1 1 1) × (1 1 1)] do not give maximum of j_P. The values of j_P have the following order: Pd(S)-[n(1 1 1) × (1 1 1)] < Pd(S)-[n(1 1 1) × (1 0 0)] < Pd(S)-[n(1 0 0) × (1 1 0)] < Pd(S)-[n(1 0 0) × (1 1 1)]. The anodic current at more negative potential 0.20 V (RHE) shows different activity series: Pd(1 1 1) and Pd(1 1 0) have the highest rate for formic acid oxidation at 0.20 V (RHE).     

Hydrodechlorination of CCl4 over carbon-supported palladium–gold catalysts prepared by the reverse “water-in-oil” microemulsion method

Two series of carbon-supported Pd–Au catalysts were prepared by the reverse “water-in-oil, W/O” method, characterized by various techniques and investigated in the reaction of tetrachloromethane with hydrogen at 423 K. The synthesized nanoparticles were reasonably monodispersed having an average diameter of 4–6 nm (Pd/C and Pd–Au/C) and 9 nm (Au/C). Monometallic palladium catalysts quickly deactivated during the hydrodehalogenation of CCl₄. Palladium–gold catalysts with molar ratio Pd:Au = 90:10 and 85:15 were stable and much more active than the monometallic palladium and Au-richer Pd–Au catalysts. The selectivity toward chlorine-free hydrocarbons (especially for C₂₊ hydrocarbons) was increased upon introducing small amounts of gold to palladium. Simultaneously, for the most active Pd–Au catalysts, the selectivity for undesired dimers C₂H_xCl_y, which are considered as coke precursors, was much lower than for monometallic Pd catalysts. Reasons for synergistic effects are discussed. During CCl₄ hydrodechlorination the Pd/C and Pd–Au/C catalysts were subjected to bulk carbiding.     

Titanium-supported nanoporous bimetallic Pt–Ir electrocatalysts for formic acid oxidation

Novel titanium-supported nanoporous network bimetallic Pt–Ir/Ti electrocatalysts (S1:Pt₅₉Ir₄₁/Ti, S2:Pt₄₄Ir₅₆/Ti, S3:Pt₂₂Ir₇₈/Ti) have been successfully fabricated by the hydrothermal process. The nanoparticles of Pt and Ir were deposited on the titanium substrates in the presence of formaldehyde as a reduction agent. The electrocatalytic activity of these electrocatalysts towards formic acid oxidation in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ + 0.5 M HCOOH solutions was investigated using cyclic voltammograms (CVs), linear sweep voltammograms (LSVs), chrono amperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The CVs of S1, S2 and S3 exhibit two anodic peaks in the forward scan and one anodic peak in the reverse scan which are similar to the pure Pt. Their LSVs show that the three samples present significantly high current densities of formic acid oxidation compared to the Pt electrode. It is observed from the chrono amperometric measurements at potential 600 mV that the sample S2 delivers a steady-state current density that is 545 times larger than that for the pure Pt electrode. EIS analysis shows that the impedances on both the imaginary and real axes of S1, S2 and S3 are much lower than those of the pure Pt. Among the three samples (S1, S2 and S3), S2 exhibits the highest electrocatalytic activity towards the formic acid oxidation.     

Boron-doped diamond powder as catalyst support for fuel cell applications

The modification of boron-doped diamond powder with metallic oxides using the sol–gel method to prepare high area and very stable electrodes for the methanol oxidation reaction is reported here. The catalyst clusters thus prepared are irregularly distributed on the BDD powder surface having sizes varying between 500 nm and 5 μm and formed by the agglomeration of many nanoparticles. Electrochemical studies in acid media demonstrate that the deposited particles have a good electrical contact with the diamond powder surface and high purity. Moreover, the use of the sol–gel method on a BDD powder substrate leads to the formation of metallic and metallic oxides deposits of the desired composition. The electrocatalyst composite prepared in this manner (Pt–RuO_x/BDD powder) shows an excellent activity for methanol oxidation presenting an onset potential 20 mV lower than that observed on a Pt–Ru/C commercial catalyst, probably due to the ruthenium oxide contribution to the overall catalytic activity.     

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis of components of pyridine temperature-programmed desorption spectra from surface of copper-supported catalysts

The method of pyridine temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) was applied for the measurement of acid properties of in situ reduced copper catalysts on silicate support. A thermal-conductivity detector (TCD) was used for the detection of TPD spectra of pyridine. The combination of flame-ionization detector and thermal conductivity detector shows that the region of TPD spectrum with the peak maxima T_MAX1 = 350 °C is a superposition of the TCD response on spectra of desorbed pyridine, water and carbon dioxide, desorbing simultaneously from the catalyst surface. The method for the elimination of H₂O and CO₂ on the layer of NaOH was tested and the pure TPD spectrum of pyridine was obtained. The exact determination of pyridine concentration allows to estimate the amount of weak and medium acid centers of the catalyst. The gas chromatography with the mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) analyses was used for the interpretation of high temperature region of the pyridine TPD spectra (T_MAX2 = 620 °C). It was found that pyridine bonded on the strong acid centers is decomposed to N₂ and CO under very high temperature. The available chromatographic method for the separation of components present in pyridine TPD spectrum in the high-temperature region was suggested. The method for the quantification of strong acidity of copper-supported catalyst was found.     

Synthesis of coin-like hollow carbon and performance as Pd catalyst support for methanol electrooxidation

The coin-like hollow carbon (CHC) has been synthesized by only using ethanol as the carbon source with a novel Mg/NiCl₂ catalytic system via a facile solvothermal method for the first time. The CHC synthesized at optimized conditions shows an average thickness of less than 154 nm and the coin diameter of 1–3 μm. The CHC is characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD and electrochemical techniques. Pd on CHC (denotes as Pd/CHC) electrocatalysts are prepared for methanol oxidation in alkaline media. The Pd/CHC electrocatalyst gives a mass activity of 2930 A g⁻¹ Pd for methanol oxidation against 870 A g⁻¹ Pd on Pd/C electrocatalyst. One main reason for the higher mass activity of the Pd/CHC is the higher electrochemical active surface area (EASA) of the Pd/CHC.     

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。     

Bismuth as an additive modifying the selectivity of palladium catalysts

The influence of bismuth addition on the activity and selectivity of palladium catalysts supported on SiO₂ in the reaction of glucose oxidation to gluconic acid was studied. The catalysts modified with Bi show much better selectivity and activity than palladium catalysts. The XRD studies proved the presence of intermetallic compounds BiPd and Bi₂Pd, which probably increase activity and selectivity of PdBi/SiO₂ catalysts in the oxidation of glucose. The TPO studies of catalysts containing 5 wt.% Pd/SiO₂, 3 wt.% Bi/SiO₂ and 5 wt.% Pd–5 wt.% Bi/SiO₂ show that palladium oxidation occurs at much higher temperatures than in the case of bismuth. The maximum rate of Pd oxidation occurs at around 580 K while the maximum rate of Bi oxidation takes place at around 430 K. Considering the above facts, a reaction involving bimetallic catalysts in oxidizing atmosphere at 333 K should not lead to surface oxidation of palladium and thus their deactivation.     

NH_4~+对甲酸在炭载Pd催化剂上氧化性能的影响

为了解HClO4、NH4ClO4和NaClO4电解液对炭载Pd(Pd/C)催化剂电极对甲酸氧化的电催化性能的影响,在用X射线衍射(XRD)谱、能量色散谱(EDS)和透射电子显微镜(TEM)对Pd/C催化剂进行表征的基础上,采用电化学方法测量了Pd/C催化剂在不同电解液中对甲酸氧化的电催化性能.发现在不同电解液中,Pd/C催化剂对甲酸氧化的电催化活性和稳定性按NH4ClO4NaClO4HClO4的次序降低.由于甲酸的存在,不同电解液的pH相差较小,因此,电解液的pH影响较小,而阳离子的影响较大.在NaClO4电解液中的性能优于在HClO4电解液中的性能是pH的影响.在NH4ClO4电解液中的性能优于在NaClO4电解液中是由于NH4+能降低CO在Pd/C催化剂电极上的吸附强度和吸附量,这一发现对提高直接甲酸燃料电池(DFAFC)的性能很有意义.     

Impact of palladium silicide formation on the catalytic properties of Pd/SiO2 catalysts in liquid-phase semihydrogenation of phenylacetylene

In this study, palladium silicide was formed on the sol–gel derived SiO₂ supported Pd catalysts when they were prepared by ion-exchange method using Pd(NH₃)₄Cl₂ as a palladium precursor. No other palladium phases (PdO or Pd⁰) were evident after calcinations at 450 °C for 3 h. The Pd/SiO₂ catalysts with Pd silicide formation were found to exhibit superior performance than commercial SiO₂ supported ones in liquid-phase semihydrogenation of phenylacetylene. From XPS results, the binding energy of Pd 3d of palladium silicide on the Pd/SiO₂ catalyst shifted toward larger binging energy, indicating that Pd is electron deficient. This could probably result in an inhibition of a product styrene on the Pd surface and hence high styrene selectivities were obtained at high phenylacetylene conversions. The formation of Pd silicide, however, did not have much impact on specific activity of the Pd catalysts since the TOFs were quite similar among the various catalysts with or without palladium silicides if their average particle sizes were large enough. The TOFs decreased by an order of magnitude when palladium dispersion was very high and their average particle sizes were smaller than 3–5 nm.     

Synthesis of Pd nanowire networks by a simple template-free and surfactant-free method and their application in formic acid electrooxidation

A large volume of Pd nanowire networks with lengths of a few tens of nanometers are synthesized successfully by the inherent self-assembly process with the stabilizing effect of sodium citrate. The Pd nanowire networks exhibit a superior electrocatalytic activity for formic acid oxidation. The specific area activities of Pd nanowire at 0.1 V calculated from the forward-scan currents were 1.38 mA cm^?2, which is 97% higher than that obtained from Pd nanoparticle or peanut-like structures (0.70 mA cm^?2). The mechanism of the significant enhancement of the catalytic activity of Pd nanowire network can be due to the unique surface characteristics and effective electronic conduction path within the Pd nanowire networks.