Synthesis of a low palladium dosage catalyst and its high performance promoted by Fe2O3 for ethanol electrooxidation
Abstract
In this paper, a low palladium dosage hybrid catalyst (Pd/Fe2O3) for ethanol electrooxidation promoted by Fe2O3 has been fabricated by a facile solvothermal approach. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses reveal that the prepared face-centered cubic Pd nanoparticles with the average diameter of ca. 5 nm are well dispersed on the surface of the as-prepared dendritic Fe2O3. The resulting Pd/Fe2O3 hybrid catalyst with a total loading of 8.4 wt% Pd shows higher mass activity (450.8 mA mg−1 Pd) than Pd/XC-72 catalyst (359.9 mA mg−1 Pd) and JM commercial 20% Pt/C catalyst (144.0 mA mg−1 Pt) towards ethanol electrooxidation, and better stability as well. Fe2O3 has a promoting effect on oxidizing and removing the adsorbed CO-like intermediate species during electrooxidation of ethanol. These results indicate that due to the low cost and enhanced performance, the Pd/Fe2O3 hybrid catalyst may be a superior candidate for direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs).