Synthesis of palladium bimetal nanoparticles and their catalytic activities for oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract

The premium choice of material in electrochemistry has always been platinum due to its outstanding catalytic ability, exhibiting large current exchange densities and inherently high resistance to corrosion even at elevated temperatures. However, platinum is highly expensive and arduous to work with due to its poor durability and high susceptibility to carbon monoxide poisoning. Hence, voluminous efforts have been placed into researching a suitable replacement for platinum as an electro-catalyst. Additionally, the methodologies used for the deposition of nanoparticles demand long hours and constant supervision. In this report, an alternative method favouring both time and complexity will be used to deposit palladium and nickel nanoparticles onto the surface of the electrode. Lastly, a bi-metallic solution comprising of both metals will be deposited using the same method to observe the effect on catalytic ability. The investigations and observations of this project were done by cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Based on the data measured, Key Performance Indicators (KPI) such as Specific Activity (I

s

), Electrochemical Active Surface Area (ECSA) and Mass Activity (I

m

) were calculated. The results showed that a Bi-Metallic solution of Palladium-Nickel-Hydrazine significantly improved the catalytic ability compared to Palladium-Hydrazine.