Highly Dispersed PdNi Nanoparticles on an Oxygen-Functionalized Activated Carbon with Extraordinary Electrocatalytic Activity for Methanol Oxidation

Exploration of advanced electrocatalysts with high activityanddurability for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) is essentialfor developing high-efficiency and low-cost direct methanol fuel cells(DMFCs). Here, PdNi electrocatalysts with various Pd-to-Ni atomicratios and high dispersion were prepared by a simple chemical reductionwith functionalized activated carbon (FAC) and sodium borohydrideas a support and a reducing agent, respectively. Among the variousPd (x) Ni (y) /FACand the reference Pd/FAC catalysts, Pd4Ni1/FACdisplays the highest catalytic activity toward methanol oxidationreaction (MOR) in an alkaline medium. Specifically, it achieves ahigh mass activity of up to 2577.5 mA/mg(Pd). In addition,it also shows high anti-CO poisoning and better stability. The superiorelectrocatalytic performance of Pd4Ni1/FAC maybe attributed to the high dispersion and the synergic effect betweenPd and Ni.

Automated summary

PdNi electrocatalysts with various Pd-to-Ni atomic ratios and high dispersion were prepared using a simple chemical reduction method. The Pd4Ni1/FAC catalyst exhibited the highest catalytic activity for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) with a high mass activity of up to 2577.5 mA/mg(Pd) in an alkaline medium. It also showed excellent resistance to CO poisoning and improved stability, possibly attributed to the high dispersion and synergistic effect between Pd and Ni.