Joule-heating synthesis of Pd/C catalyst with excellent electrocatalytic performances

Abstract

Developing high-performance electrocatalysts is essential for the commercialization of fuel cells, but the commercial catalyst is still far from satisfactory in terms of catalytic activity and stability. Herein, we report a convenient solid-phase synthesis strategy that couples ball milling and rapid Joule-heating to prepare fine palladium nanoparticles supported on carbon substrate (Pd/C). The as-synthesized Pd/C catalyst shows excellent catalytic performance for typical electrochemical reactions, e.g., oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) and formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR), compared to commercial Pd/C catalyst. We emphasize the multi-dimensional comparison of the obtained Pd/C product and commercial catalysts to illustrate the potential advantages of the synthesis method in industrial applications.