A straightforward one-pot synthesis of Pd–Ag supported on activated carbon as a robust catalyst toward ethanol electrooxidation

PdAg/C Electrocatalysts Synthesized by Thermal Decomposition of Polymeric Precursors Improve Catalytic Activity for Ethanol Oxidation Reaction

“…In Figure 3 4), suggesting that the decrease in the amount of Pd favored the improvement of catalytic activity. The ECSA values (calculated according to Equation ( 15)) observed in Table 4 are related to several factors, including the crystallite size [40]. The PdAg/C electrocatalysts present higher ECSA, favoring accessibility to electrocatalytic sites on the surface, which would be in good agreement with the smaller crystallite sizes observed in the previous XRD analyses (see Table 3).…”

“…Solid solutions of metals at the interface can favor the adsorption The results observed in this study suggest that the electrocatalyst Pd 60 Ag 40 /C presented a better catalytic performance for EOR. As proposed by Mostashari et al [40], the improvement in the catalytic performance of PdAg/C electrocatalysts can be explained by the following factors: better dispersion of the particles in the support material, formation of PdAg solid solution, and increased ECSA. From the results presented by XRD (Figure 1), the diffraction angles of the bimetallic electrocatalysts are shifted to lower values.…”

“…The values of the EOR initiation potentials (E onset ) collected in Table 4 indicate which are the best electrocatalysts for this process. The addition of Ag to Pd shifts the E onset values towards desired, more negative, values [40]. It can be inferred from Table 4 that more negative E onset values can be achieved as the amount of Ag increases.…”

“…The δ values collected in Table 4 demonstrate that the addition of Ag shifts the poisoning rate values to more negative values, suggesting that there is an Ag contribution to decreasing the poisoning of PdAg/C in relation to Pd/C. The synergistic role of Ag in the allowed structure of bimetallic PdAg/C electrocatalysts can be explained by the modification of the electronic structure of Pd, decreasing both the poisoning of the active sites and the activation energy of EOR [29,30,40]. These results are consistent with the CV results, where PdAg showed higher catalytic activity (Figure 4 and Table 4).…”

“…This shift demonstrates the alteration of the crystalline structure and hints at the formation of alloys (solid solutions). Solid solutions of metals at the interface can favor the adsorption of OH − on the Pd surface and facilitate the removal of CO-type intermediate species, releasing the active sites on the surface of the electrocatalyst surface [40]. It is also reported that the excellent catalytic activity is related to the alloy composition and electronic structure modulation by d-band electronic effects, with strong synergistic effects observed for the PdAg binary alloy.…”