Balancing Activity and Stability in a Ternary Au-Pd/Fe Electrocatalyst for ORR with High Surface Coverages of Au

Xiaofang Yang, Jun Hu, Ruqian Wu, Bruce E. Koel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and low durability of ORR catalysts in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEM-FCs) requires a continued search for advanced catalysts. Bimetallic catalysts demonstrate enhanced kinetics due to the optimized electronic properties from alloying but can suffer from poor stability of the active metals. Herein we report our findings that while bulk gold is catalytically inactive, high coverages (> 0.6 monolayer) of Au deposited on a Pd3Fe(111) surface were highly active and stable. These properties of Au-modified Pd3Fe(111) surfaces are associated with initial formation of 2D nanostructures at step edges and the transition of 2D to 3D nanostructures under reaction conditions. The balancing of activity and stability in this ternary Au-Pd/Fe electrocatalyst provides a potential candidate for non-Pt, highly stable ORR catalysts. Similar nanostructures and conditions may be able to activate gold for use in other electrocatalytic reactions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)693-697
Number of pages5
JournalChemCatChem
Volume11
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 23 2019

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Catalysis
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Inorganic Chemistry

Keywords

  • Electrocatalysis
  • Gold
  • Heterogeneous Catalysis
  • Oxygen Reduction Reaction
  • Pd-Fe alloy

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Balancing Activity and Stability in a Ternary Au-Pd/Fe Electrocatalyst for ORR with High Surface Coverages of Au'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this