Synthesis and Thermal Treatment of Pd-Cr@Carbon for Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Abstract

A nanostructured PdCr@carbon catalyst is deposited on a supported carbon surface using the modified polyol reduction method for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for the application in the proton exchange membrane fuel cell. The crystal structure and feature nanostructure of the PdCr@carbon were established using the XRD and TEM, while their catalytic activity was studied using the cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical polarization techniques. The estimated average crystallite size of PdCr is increased with the calcination temperature from 9.66 to 37.54 nm as the calcination temperature increased to 973 K, while the annealing time slightly affects the crystallite size. The TEM examination reveals the uniform distribution of the PdCr nanoparticles upon the carbon surface. The calcination temperature and time play an important factor in controlling the structural and morphology parameters of PdCr@carbon and the optimum activity and chemical stability were observed for samples calcined at 573 K for 3 h.

Clean Electrochemical Synthesis of Pd–Pt Bimetallic Dendrites with High Electrocatalytic Performance for the Oxidation of Formic Acid

“…Up to date, several strategies have been developed to improve the electrocatalytic properties of Pd. The previous literature has reported that alloys of Pd with other metals (such as Cu [9], Pt [15], Co [16], Ag [17], Au [18], Sn [19], Ni [20], Rh [21], Zn [22], Pb [23], Cr [24], and Ir [25]) can not only enhance catalytic activity, but also improve the corrosion resistance of Pd. In particular in Pd-Pt alloys, the electronegativities and bulk Wigner-Seitz radii of Pt and Pd are similar [26].…”