Mesoporous carbon supported nanoparticulated PdNi2: A methanol tolerant oxygen reduction electrocatalyst

The kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of PdNi2 nanoparticles supported on a high specific area mesoporous carbon (MC) and Vulcan carbon was studied in the presence and absence of methanol in acid media. The electrocatalysts, synthesized by chemical reduction of the metal chlorides with NaBH4 in aqueous media were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The catalyst supported on MC has a higher degree of Ni alloying and a smaller particle size than that supported on Vulcan. The electrochemical characterizations by RDE and DEMS indicate that PdNi2 supported on the high surface area MC exhibits higher catalytic activity for the ORR, very similar to that of Pd- and Pt-based alloys with the advantage of a very low noble metal loading. Moreover, the PdNi2 supported on MC shows an excellent methanol tolerance in acid media. Thus, this novel combination catalyst/support would be a suitable cathodic catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells.

► PdNi2 electrocatalyst was synthesized and characterized for the ORR.
► Catalyst supported on mesoporous carbon exhibited higher degree of Ni alloying.
► PdNi2/MC presented excellent methanol tolerance for ORR evaluated by RDE and DEMS.