Palladium Nanoparticles Loaded on Carbon Modified TiO2 Nanobelts for Enhanced Methanol Electrooxidation

Made available based on the terms of the Springer open license. Publication available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.5101/nml.v5i3.p202-212Carbon modified TiO2 nanobelts (TiO2-C) were synthesized using a hydrothermal growth method, as a support material for palladium (Pd) nanoparticles (Pd/TiO2-C) to improve the electrocatalytic performance for methanol electrooxidation by comparison to Pd nanoparticles on bare TiO2 nanobelts (Pd/TiO2) and activated carbon (Pd/AC). Cyclic voltammetry characterization was conducted with respect to saturated calomel electrode (SCE) in an alkaline methanol solution, and the results indicate that the specific activity of Pd/TiO2-C is 2.2 times that of Pd/AC and 1.5 times that of Pd/TiO2. Chronoamperometry results revealed that the TiO2-C support was comparable in stability to activated carbon; but possesses an enhanced current density for methanol oxidation at a potential of -0.2 V vs. SCE. The current study demonstrates the potential of Pd nanoparticle loaded on hierarchical TiO2-C nanobelts for electrocatalytic applications such as fuel cells and batteries.FedDev Ontario through the Applied Research and Commercialization (ARC) InitiativeNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) programMicrobonds, Inc

Oxygen reduction at platinum nanoparticles supported on carbon cryogel in alkaline solution

The oxygen reduction reaction was investigated in 0.1 M NaOH solution, on a porous coated electrode formed of Pt particles supported on carbon cryogel. The Pt/C catalyst was characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and cyclic voltammetry techniques. The results demonstrated a successful reduction of Pt to metallic form and homogenous Pt particle size distribution with a mean particle size of about 2.7 nm. The ORR kinetics was investigated by linear sweep polarization at a rotating disc electrode. The results showed the existence of two E - log j regions, usually referred to polycrystalline Pt in acid and alkaline solution. At low Current densities (led), the Tafel slope was found to be close to -2.3RT/F, while at high current densities (bed) it was found to be close to -2x2.3RT/F. It is proposed that the main path in the ORR mechanism on Pt particles was the direct four-electron process, with the transfer of the first electron as the rate determining step. If the activities are expressed through the specific current densities, a small enhancement of the catalytic activity for Pt/C was observed compared to that of polycrystalline Pt. The effect of the Pt particle size on the electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction was ascribed to the predominant (111) facets of the platinum crystallites

Synthesis, characterization and electrocatalytical behavior of Nb-TiO2/Pt nanocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

In order to point out the effect of the support to the catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction nano-crystalline Nb-doped TiO2 was synthesized through a modified sol-gel route procedure. The specific surface area of the support, S-BET, and pore size distribution, were calculated from the adsorption isotherms using the gravimetric McBain method. The support was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The borohydride reduction method was used to prepare Nb-TiO2 supported Pt (20 wt.%) catalyst. The synthesized catalyst was analyzed by TEM technique. Finally, the catalytic activity of this new catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction was investigated in acid solution, in the absence and the presence of methanol, and its activity was compared towards the results on C/Pt catalysts. Kinetic analysis reveals that the oxygen reduction reaction on Nb-TiO2/Pt catalyst follows four-electron process leading to water, as in the case of C/Pt electrode, but the Tafel plots normalized to the electrochemically active surface area show very remarkable enhancement in activity of Nb-TiO2/Pt expressed through the value of the current density at the constant potential. Moreover, Nb-TiO2/Pt catalyst exhibits higher methanol tolerance during the oxygen reduction reaction than the C/Pt catalyst. The enhancement in the activity of Nb-TiO2/Pt is consequence of both: the interactions of Pt nanoparticles with the support and the energy shift of the surface d-states with respect to the Fermi level what changes the surface reactivity. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved