Composite of nanosized carbides and carbon aerogel and its supported Pd electrocatalyst for synergistic oxidation of ethylene glycol

The nanosized carbides supported on carbon aerogel composites have been synthesized for the first time by a polycondensation of resorcinol and formaldehyde (RF) method in the presence of sodium tungstate and sodium molybdate. The nanocomposites are characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and cyclic voltammetry. The Pd nanoparticles supported on binary carbide and carbon aerogel composites (Pd/WC–Mo2C/C) for ethylene glycol oxidation are investigated. The Pd/WC–Mo2C/C as electrocatalyst shows a superior activity toward the ethylene glycol (EG) oxidation which is almost ten times higher than that of Pd/C due to the synergistic effect between Pd and carbides. The high activity has been further proved by the lowest activation free energy for EG oxidation on Pd/WC–Mo2C/C electrocatalyst. This finding indicates that the binary transition-metal carbide will be the novel catalyst support in the direct alcohol fuel cells.

► Carbide composites with a 3-D structure were in situ synthesized by polymerization.
► The electrocatalytic activity for EG oxidation is proved due to the synergistic effect.
► The high activity of the Pd/WC–Mo2C/C is due to the lower activation free energy for EG oxidation.