Improved Electro-oxidation Performance of Palladium towards Liquid fuels through Oxophillic metal Alloying

摘要

Direct liquid fuel cells form the part of key energy systems for the future, capable of solving the growing need of efficient future power sources due to their ample benefits including high power density, easy handling & transportation and further being environmentally benign. The fuels for DLFCs such as ethanol and formate are considered substantially safer and superior than pure hydrogen in many aspects. However, many researchers are still working towards efficient catalyst material development to enhance the DLFC efficiency and performance. In this context, palladium is one catalyst material that has provided the most promising forecasts for enhanced liquid-fuel oxidation kinetics that could effectively replace platinum in terms of efficiency, particularly in alkaline medium [1]. In this report, we provide insights into our findings on alloying strategy for enhancing the overall fuel oxidation competency of palladium in alkaline media. As mentioned afore, liquid fuels have many advantages compared to fuels including excellent efficiency and enhanced power generation ability. Among these fuels like low molecular weight alcohols and others, formate can provide a safer and cost-effective process for energy conversion (DFFCs) due to their superior oxidation kinetics, higher electromotive force for the DFFC and the non-volatile behavior of formate solution below 100 °C compared to ethanol, methanol and formic acid [2]. Therefore, we herein provide a strategy to develop facile Pd based alloy catalyst system for formate based alkaline fuel cell system.