Carbon supported PdSn nanocatalysts with enhanced performance for ethanol electrooxidation in alkaline medium

Abstract

Abstract In this work, simple chemical reduction method is used to prepare Pd–Sn nanocatalysts supported on carbon for ethanol electro-oxidation in alkaline environment using ethylene glycol as reductant. The composition, structure and morphologies of PdSn/f-C catalysts are investigated by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray and transmission electron microscopy. The electro-chemical activity and durability of as-obtained PdSn/f-C nanocatalysts are investigated and determined by cyclic voltammetry and Chronoamperometric measurements. The obtained results demonstrate that as prepared PdSn/f-C nanocatalysts have uniform dispersion and small particle size. In addition to, the as prepared PdSn/f-C nanocatalysts have higher electro-chemical activity and better stability toward EOR in alkaline environment than those of Pd/f-C and commercial Pd/C (JM) nanocatalysts. Specifically, the electro-catalytic activity of Pd 1.5 Sn/f-C nanocatalyst (3413.3 mA mg Pd − 1 ) is almost 8.6 times higher than Pd/C (JM) nanocatalyst (355.2 mA mg Pd − 1 ), which has competitive power among reported Pd–Sn catalysts. These results indicate that the uniform carbon supported PdSn nanostructure are promising electrocatalysts for direct ethanol fuel cells.