Effect of PdNiBi Metal Content: Cost Reduction in Alkaline Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells

In this work, the metal content of Pd85Ni10Bi5/C catalysts for the alkaline ethanol-oxidation reaction was reduced from 40 wt.% (PdNiBi/C (40/60)) to 30 wt.% (PdNiBi/C (30/70)), 20 wt.% (PdNiBi/C (20/80)) and 10 wt.% (PdNiBi/C (10/90)), while increasing performance. The synthesized catalysts were examined using physicochemical measurements and electrochemical measurements. The best performing catalysts were used to fabricate membrane electrode assemblies for carrying out single-cell tests and to determine the influence of the metal/carbon ratio of the electrode. The electrochemical surface area (695 cm(2) mg(-1)) and activity were increased, resulting in high peak-current densities for the ethanol oxidation reaction (3.72 A mg(-1)) by the resulting more accessible metal particles. The electrode produced with the PdNiBi/C (30/70) catalyst reached a maximum power density of 34.8 mW mg(-1) at 50 degrees C. This successfully demonstrated a doubling of the power density compared with the performance of the PdNiBi/C (40/60) electrode, while simultaneously reducing the costs.

Automated summary

This study successfully improved the performance and reduced costs by reducing the metal content in Pd85Ni10Bi5/C catalysts. The synthesized catalysts showed excellent electrochemical performance and high peak-current densities for the ethanol oxidation reaction.