Nickel-palladium electrocatalysts for methanol, ethanol, and glycerol oxidation reactions

Carbon-supported Pd and PdNi electrocatalysts with different Ni contents were prepared by metal ion chemical reduction with borohydride. XRF analyses showed that the actual compositions of the materials were close to the nominal compositions. XRD measurements revealed that the materials were crystalline, with small peak displacements when Ni and Pd ions were reduced on carbon support, and suggested a segregated phase and not a Ni incorporation into the Pd lattice. HRTEM micrographs showed homogeneous particle distributions on the carbon, with a narrow particle size distribution and few agglomerations of nanoparticles. All the materials presented electrochemical activity for the oxidation of methanol, ethanol, and glycerol in KOH, and the oxidation current peak increased as a function of the Ni content in the catalyst.