Highly active and durable Pd-Cu catalysts for oxygen reduction in alkaline exchange membrane fuel cells

• Published in: Frontiers in Energy Vol. 11; no. 3; pp. 299 - 309
• Main Authors: PENG, Xiong, OMASTA, Travis J., ROLLER, Justin M., MUSTAIN, William E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Higher Education Press 01-09-2017; Springer Nature B.V; Springer
• Subjects: alkaline exchange membrane (AEM); Carbon dioxide; Catalysts; Chemical synthesis; Durability; Electron microscopy; Electrons; Energy; Energy & Fuels; Energy Systems; fuel cell; Fuel cells; Fuel technology; high performance; Oxygen; oxygen reduction; Oxygen reduction reactions; Palladium; Pd-Cu; Phase (cyclic); Photoelectron spectroscopy; Platinum; Pt/C催化剂; Research Article; Rotating disks; Spectroscopy; Transmission electron microscopy; water; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy; X-ray diffraction; X-rays; X射线光电子能谱; 换膜; 氧还原反应; 燃料电池; 碱性介质; 还原催化剂; 高活性; alkaline exchange membrane (AEM); fuel cell; high performance; water; Pd-Cu; oxygen reduction
• ISSN: 2095-1701; 2095-1698
• DOI: 10.1007/s11708-017-0495-1

A Pd-Cu catalyst, with primary B2-type phase, supported by VulcanXC-7R carbon was synthesized via a solvothermal method. The catalysts were physically and electrochemically characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, trans- mission electron microscopy （TEM） and both cyclic and linear sweep voltammetry using a rotating disk electrode （RDE）. During the RDE testing, the half-wave potential of the Pd-Cu/Vulcan catalyst was 50 mV higher compared to that of commercial Pt/C catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction （ORR） in alkaline media. The Pd-Cu/Vulcan exhibited a specific activity of 1.27 mA/cm2 and a mass activity of 0.59 A/mgpd at 0.9 V, which were 4 and 3 times greater than that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst, respectively. The Pd-Cu/Vulcan catalyst also showed higher in-situ alkaline exchange membrane fuel cell （AEMFC） performance, with operating power densities of 1100 MW/cm2 operating on H2/O2 and 700 MW/cm2 operating on H2/Air （CO2-free）, which were markedly higher than those of the commercial Pt/C. The Pd-Cu/ Vulcan catalyst also exhibited high stability during a short-term, in-situ AEMFC durability test, with only around 11% performance loss after 30 hours of operation, an improve- ment over most AEMFCs reported in the literature to date.