Palladium–Tin Alloyed Catalysts for the Ethanol Oxidation Reaction in an Alkaline Medium

Unravelling the promoting effect of the ultrathin TaC/RGO nanosheet hybrid for enhanced catalytic activity of Pd nanoparticles

A novel two-dimensional ultrathin TaC/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheet hybrid was employed as a co-catalyst to Pd nanoparticles (Pd/TaC-G).

Facile One-Step Synthesis of Three-Dimensional Pd-Ag Bimetallic Alloy Networks and Their Electrocatalytic Activity toward Ethanol Oxidation

The three-dimensional palladium networks and palladium-silver bimetallic alloy networks were synthesized at room temperature on a large scale using a rapid and simple strategy. The results revealed that the morphology of the networks is not affected by the composition. We demonstrated that the as-prepared unsupported networks exhibited excellent electrochemical activity and stability toward ethanol oxidation reaction in alkaline media due to the formation of palladium-silver alloys as well as the porous nanostructures. The results indicate that the well-defined three-dimensional palladium-silver bimetallic alloy networks are promising catalysts for fuel cells.

Size and aspect ratio control of Pd₂Sn nanorods and their water denitration properties

Monodisperse Pd2Sn nanorods with tuned size and aspect ratio were prepared by co-reduction of metal salts in the presence of trioctylphosphine, amine, and chloride ions. Asymmetric Pd2Sn nanostructures were achieved by the selective desorption of a surfactant mediated by chlorine ions. A preliminary evaluation of the geometry influence on catalytic properties evidenced Pd2Sn nanorods to have improved catalytic performance. In view of these results, Pd2Sn nanorods were also evaluated for water denitration.

Evolution of nanoscale amorphous, crystalline and phase-segregated PtNiP nanoparticles and their electrocatalytic effect on methanol oxidation reaction

The design of amorphous noble metallic nanoparticle electrocatalysts is an important fundamental and applied research challenge because their surface is rich in low-coordination sites and defects which could act as the active sites in various catalytic processes. Here we describe new findings on the amorphous platinum-nickel-phosphorous nanoparticles supported on carbon black (PtNiP(a)/C) and the comparison between their catalytic activity and that of the nanoscale crystalline and phase-segregated PtNiP nanoparticles. The nanoscale amorphous, crystalline and phase-segregated catalysts were probed as a function of surface composition, particle size, and thermal treatment conditions using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction and electrochemical characterization. The results provide the experimental evidence in support of nanoscale amorphous, crystalline, and phase-segregated PtNiP nanoparticles evolution dependence on the catalyst synthesis temperature. More importantly, the results of the electrochemical performance investigation showed that the amorphous structure has not only better catalytic activity for methanol oxidation but also stronger tolerance to carbon monoxide poisoning compared to the crystalline and phase-segregated structure. Besides, the thermal control of the formation of nanoscale amorphous, crystalline and phase-segregated structured catalysts provided the opportunity for establishing the correlation between the nanoscale phase structures of the catalysts and their electrocatalytic activity in methanol oxidation reaction, which plays an important role in developing highly active electrocatalysts for direct methanol fuel cells.

Mechanistic insight into oxide-promoted palladium catalysts for the electro-oxidation of ethanol

Recent advancements in the development of alternatives to proton exchange membrane fuel cells utilizing less-expensive catalysts and renewable liquid fuels, such as alcohols, has been observed for alkaline fuel cell systems. Alcohol fuels present the advantage of not facing the challenge of storage and transportation encountered with hydrogen fuel. Oxidation of alcohols has been improved by the promotion of alloyed or secondary phases. Nevertheless, currently, there is no experimental understanding of the difference between an intrinsic and a synergistic promotion effect in high-pH environments. This report shows evidence of different types of promotion effects on palladium electrocatalysts obtained from the presence of an oxide phase for the oxidation of ethanol. The correlation of mechanistic in situ IR spectroscopic studies with electrochemical voltammetry studies on two similar electrocatalytic systems allow the role of either an alloyed or a secondary phase on the mechanism of oxidation of ethanol to be elucidated. Evidence is presented for the difference between an intrinsic effect obtained from an alloyed system and a synergistic effect produced by the presence of an oxide phase.

Catalytic and electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol over palladium-based nanoalloy catalysts

The control of the nanoscale composition and structure of alloy catalysts plays an important role in heterogeneous catalysis. This paper describes novel findings of an investigation for Pd-based nanoalloy catalysts (PdCo and PdCu) for ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) in gas phase and alkaline electrolyte. Although the PdCo catalyst exhibits a mass activity similar to Pd, the PdCu catalyst is shown to display a much higher mass activity than Pd for the electrocatalytic EOR in alkaline electrolyte. This finding is consistent with the finding on the surface enrichment of Pd on the alloyed PdCu surface, in contrast to the surface enrichment of Co in the alloyed PdCo surface. The viability of C-C bond cleavage was also probed for the PdCu catalysts in both gas-phase and electrolyte-phase EOR. In the gas-phase reaction, although the catalytic conversion rate for CO2 product is higher over Pd than PdCu, the nanoalloy PdCu catalyst appears to suppress the formation of acetic acid, which is a significant portion of the product in the case of pure Pd catalyst. In the alkaline electrolyte, CO2 was detected from the gas phase above the electrolyte upon acid treatment following the electrolysis, along with traces of aldehyde and acetic acid. An analysis of the electrochemical properties indicates that the oxophilicity of the base metal alloyed with Pd, in addition to the surface enrichment of metals, may have played an important role in the observed difference of the catalytic and electrocatalytic activities. In comparison with Pd alloyed with Co, the results for Pd alloyed with Cu showed a more significant positive shift of the reduction potential of the oxygenated Pd species on the surface. These findings have important implications for further fine-tuning of the Pd nanoalloys in terms of base metal composition toward highly active and selective catalysts for EOR.

Dimethylformamide-mediated synthesis of water-soluble platinum nanodendrites for ethanol oxidation electrocatalysis

Herein we describe the synthesis of water-soluble platinum nanodendrites in dimethylformamide (DMF), in the presence of polyethyleneimine (PEI) as a stabilizing agent. The average size of the dendrites is in the range of 20-25 nm while their porosity can be tuned by modifying the concentration of the metal precursor. Electron tomography revealed different crystalline orientations of nanocrystallites in the nanodendrites and allowed a better understanding of their peculiar branching and porosity. The high surface area of the dendrites (up to 22 m(2) g(-1)) was confirmed by BET measurements, while X-ray diffraction confirmed the abundance of high-index facets in the face-centered-cubic crystal structure of Pt. The prepared nanodendrites exhibit excellent performance in the electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol in alkaline solution. Sensing, selectivity, cycleability and great tolerance toward poisoning were demonstrated by cyclic voltammetry measurements.