Electrodeposition of Cu-Pd alloys onto electrophoretic deposited carbon nanotubes for nitrate electroreduction

Copper-palladium (Cu-Pd) alloys have been electrodeposited onto carbon nanotubes, which were uniformly and stably deposited on Ti plates via electrophoretic deposition. Electrodes with a wide range of Cu/Pd atomic ratios were fabricated by potentiostatic coelectrodeposition of Cu and Pd onto Ti/CNTs. They were characterized by energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer, X-ray diffraction and tested for nitrate electroreduction. The electrode deposited in bath with 5 mM Cu2+ and 5 mM Pd2+ (Ti/CNTs/Cu5-Pd5) possessed outstanding stability as well as the highest electrocatalytic activity with the best nitrate conversion yield and proper N-2 selectivity, indicating a synergistic effect of Cu and Pd. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy analysis of Ti/CNTs/Cu5-Pd5 and Ti/Cu5-Pd5 revealed that CNTs played a remarkable role in the homogeneous formation of the bimetal, significantly improving the alloy's electrocatalytic activity and stability. The fabricated Ti/CNTs/Cu5-Pd5 was proved to be a promising electrode for nitrate electroreduction. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.