Synthesis of Carbon-Supported PdIrNi Catalysts and Their Performance towards Ethanol Electrooxidation

Abstract

Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) have shown a high potential to supply energy and contribute to saving the climate due to their bioethanol sustainability and carbon neutrality. Nonetheless, there is a consistent need to develop new catalyst electrodes that are active for the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). In this work, two C-supported PdIrNi catalysts, that have been reported only once, are prepared via a facile NaBH4 co-reduction route. Their physiochemical characterization (X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)) results show alloyed PdIrNi nanoparticles that are well dispersed (4Ir2Ni1/C is promising, their EOR performance has proven them less active than their Pd/C counterpart. Although the oxidation current peak of Pd/C is 1.8 A/mgPd, it is only 0.48 A/mgPd for Pd4Ir2Ni1/C and 0.52 A/mgPd for PdIrNi/C. These results were obtained three times and are reproducible, but since they do not add up with the sound PdIrNi microstructure, more advanced and in situ EOR studies are necessary to better understand the poor EOR performance.

Keywords

• supported intermetallic nanoparticles
• alloy formation
• surface microstructure
• ethanol oxidation