Temperature dependence of morphology and oxygen reduction reaction activity for carbon-supported Pd–Co electrocatalysts

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the heat treatment temperature effect on the morphology and oxygen reduction reaction activity of carbon-supported Pd-Co alloy electrocatalysts. As prepared Pd-Co bimetallic nanoparticles showed a single-phase face-centered cubic disordered structure, and the mean particle size decreased with a Co content. In order to improve activity and stability, the catalysts were heat-treated in a temperature range of 300 to 700°C. From the results of oxygen reduction reaction activity tests, the optimal heat treatment temperature was found to be 700°C for the low Co content samples, while 300°C was the best condition for the high Co content samples.

Correlation between Basic Parameters of the Materials and the Electrocatalytic Properties of the ORR on Pd-Alloy Cathodes

“…Palladium (Pd) alloys (Pd-M; M= Co, Ta, Ni, Cr, etc.) catalysts have been shown to be interesting cathodes for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in acid medium for PEM fuel cell applications [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. It was demonstrated that the optimised Pd-Co alloys exhibit electro catalytic properties for the ORR in acid medium very close to those of Pt which is known as the best catalyst for this reaction.…”