Effect of the Reduction Temperature of PdAg Nanoparticles during the Polyol Process in the Ethanol Electrooxidation Reaction

Abstract

This work reports the effect of reduction temperature during the synthesis of PdAg catalysts through the polyol process and their evaluation in the ethanol electrooxidation reaction (EOR). The characterization was performed using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The electrochemical evaluation for the ethanol electrooxidation reaction was implemented in alkaline medium using chronoamperometry (CA) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). An important effect of the reduction temperature on electroactivity and catalytic stability was observed: both the maximum current density and the catalytic stability were higher in the catalyst synthesized at the highest temperature (135°C). This performance was associated with the extent of the interaction between Pd and Ag which was measured in terms of the structural expansion of Pd.