Electroactivities of Pd/Fe₃O₄-C catalysts for electro-oxidation of methanol, ethanol and propanol

Authors

Tao ZOU, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China;
Qing-feng YI, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China;Key Laboratory of Theoretical Organic Chemistry and Functional Molecule, Ministry of Education, Xiangtan 411201, Hunan, China;Follow
Yuan-yuan ZHANG, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China;
Xiao-ping LIU, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China;
Guo-rong XU, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China;
Hui-dong NIE, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China;
Xiu-lin ZHOU, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China;

Corresponding Author

Qing-feng YI(yqfyy2001@hnust.edu.cn)

Abstract

Development of palladium (Pd) catalysts with high electroactivity for alcohol oxidation is significant for alcohol fuel cells. In this work, Pd nanoparticles were formed by sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) reduction method and subsequently deposited on the surface of carbon supported ferriferrous oxide (Fe₃O₄/C) composites to obtain the Pd/Fe₃O₄-C catalysts with different Fe₃O₄ loadings. Their transmission electron microscopic (TEM) images show that the Pd nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on the Fe₃O₄/C. Electroactivities of the prepared Pd/Fe₃O₄-C catalysts toward oxidations of C1-C3 alcohols (methanol, ethanol, n-propanol and iso-propanol) in alkaline media were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Among the prepared catalysts (Pd/Fe₃O₄(2%)-C, Pd/Fe₃O₄(5%)-C, Pd/Fe₃O₄(10%)-C and Pd/C), the Pd/Fe₃O₄(5%)-C catalyst presented the highest electro-oxidation current density for oxidations of C1-C3 alcohols. According to the CV data, the anodic peak current densities for oxidations of methanol, ethanol, n-propanol and iso-propanol on the Pd/Fe₃O₄(5%)-C catalyst were over 1.7, 1.4, 1.7 and 1.3 times larger than that on the Pd/C catalyst, respectively. Furthermore, the charge transfer resistance of ethanol oxidation on the Pd/Fe₃O₄(5%)-C catalyst was much lower than that on the Pd/C catalyst. For all of the prepared catalysts, the decreases in electro-oxidation current density of the tested C1-C3 alcohols followed the order of n-propanol >ethanol > methanol >iso-propanol. In addition, the presence of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in the carbon powder improved the electrochemical stability of the Pd nanoparticles.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

Pd catalyst, Fe3O4, Alcohol oxidation, Electrocatalyst

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.13208/j.electrochem.161104

Publication Date

2017-12-28

Online Available Date

2017-03-16

Revised Date

2017-03-15

Received Date

2016-11-04

Recommended Citation

Tao ZOU, Qing-feng YI, Yuan-yuan ZHANG, Xiao-ping LIU, Guo-rong XU, Hui-dong NIE, Xiu-lin ZHOU. Electroactivities of Pd/Fe₃O₄-C catalysts for electro-oxidation of methanol, ethanol and propanol[J]. Journal of Electrochemistry, 2017 , 23(6): 708-717.
DOI: 10.13208/j.electrochem.161104
Available at: https://jelectrochem.xmu.edu.cn/journal/vol23/iss6/9