Boron-Doped Palladium Nanoparticles on Carbon Black as a Superior Catalyst for Formic Acid Electro-oxidation

Abstract

Highly dispersed boron-doped palladium nanoparticles supported on carbon black (Pd-B/C) with high Pd loading (ca. 40 wt % Pd) are synthesized through an aqueous process using dimethylamine borane as the reducing agent. The as-prepared Pd-B/C catalyst shows extraordinary activity toward formic acid electrooxidation compared to that of a commercially available Pd/C catalyst and the one prepared by using NaBH 4 as the reductant. Subsequent thermal treatment further enhances the durability of the electro-oxidation current on Pd-B/C, enabling this new material to be a promising anode catalyst for direct formic acid fuel cells. The superior performance of our Pd-B/C catalyst may arise from uniformly dispersed nanoparticles within optimal size ranges, the increase in surface-active sites, and the electronic modification effect of boron species.

SnO2 nanospheres supported Pd catalyst with enhanced performance for formic acid oxidation

“…4). The ECSA was estimated by integrating the voltammograms corresponding to the CO-stripping peak by assuming a charge of 420 mC cm À2 for electro-oxidation of the CO monolayer on the catalyst surfaces [19]. It found that the ECSA value of Pd/SnO 2 eS (79.5 m 2 g À1 ) was larger than those of Pd/SnO 2 eP (35.6 m 2 g À1 ) and Pd/XC-72 (69.3 m 2 g À1 ), indicating that more active sites are available at the Pd/SnO 2 eS catalyst [20].…”

The influence of the crystal structure of TiO2 support material on Pd catalysts for formic acid electrooxidation

“…The above XRD measurement has proved the dilation of the lattice constant of Pd nanoparticles in Pd/TiO 2 (ADR) and Pd/TiO 2 (R). Therefore, the dilated lattice constant of Pd-Pd is beneficial to the absorption/desorption of hydrogen in the bulk Pd compared to the compressed one [39]. Interestingly, it has been reported that a dilated Pd lattice showed higher activity than that of a compressed lattice for formic acid electrooxidation [40].…”

Recent Development of Pd-Based Electrocatalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

“…The addition of Pb to Pd stabilized it significantly to deactivation during formic acid oxidation. Wang et al [65] synthesized highly dispersed boron-doped Pd nanoparticles supported on carbon black with high Pd loadings (ca. 40 wt.…”