Preparation of a trimetallic Pd₁Ni_yAl_0.5 composite nanoparticle by a hydrothermal method for ethanol oxidation reaction

摘要

A series of trimetallic Pd1NiyAl0.5 composite nanoparticles (the nominal atomic ratios of Pd:Ni:Al were1:2:0.5,1:4:0.5 and 1:6:0.5, respectively) were produced onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs) (denoted as Pd1NiyAl0.5/MWCNTs ) using a hydrothermal process. The crystalline phasesand morphologies of the samples were mainly featured using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanningelectron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Ethanol oxidation reaction(EOR), an important anodic reaction in direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs), was examined on the as- prepared catalysts principally by using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA), andthe results demonstrated that the catalyst of Pd1Ni4Al0.5/MWCNTs showed the best electrocatalyticperformance among all the prepared samples. The relatively smaller particle size and higher polarizedelectrode potential were regarded as the major reasons for the excellent electrocatalytic activity of thePd1Ni4Al0.5/MWCNTs towards EOR in comparison with other catalysts.