Carbon supported Pd–Sn nanoparticle eletrocatalysts for efficient borohydride electrooxidation

Abstract

Carbon supported Pd–Sn (Pd–Sn/C) nanoparticle electrocatalysts are prepared via a facile and environmentally friendly method and successfully applied in BH₄⁻ electrooxidation. Transmission electron microscopy results and X-ray diffraction results show that Pd–Sn nanocatalysts with a particle size of about 4 nm are uniformly distributed on the surface of a carbon black support without obvious agglomeration. Electrochemical results show that the catalytic activity of the Pd–Sn/C catalysts for BH₄⁻ electrooxidation is significantly higher than that of Pd/C. In particular, the Pd₅₀Sn₅₀/C catalyst has the highest electrocatalytic activity for BH₄⁻ electrooxidation among the four as-prepared catalysts. In addition, the BH₄⁻ electrooxidation reaction electron transfer number (n) of 3.9 was evaluated on the Pd₅₀Sn₅₀/C electrode.