Remarkable electrochemical stability of one-step synthesized Pd nanoparticles supported on grapheme and multi-walled carbon nanotubes

CAUÊ A. MARTINS; PABLO S. FERNÁNDEZ; FABIO DE LIMA; HORACIO E. TROIANI; MURILO FEITOSA CABRAL, LEILIANE F. C. LIMA, SANDRA M. S. RIBEIRO, MARIA E. MARTINS, FRANCISCO ÁTILA, L. GONDIM E CARLUCIO R. ALVES; MARÍA E. MARTINS; ANA ARENILLAS; GILBERTO MAIA; GIUSEPPE A. CAMARA

Nano Energy

Elsevier

Año: 2014 vol. 9 p. 142 - 151

2211-2855

Anodes and cathodes of fuel cells are usually composed of metallic nanoparticles(NPs)dispersed on carbon,in order to increase their active area.Since the degradation of the catalyst affects the performance of the fuel cells,understanding the stability of its components is pivotal to make these systems more reliable.As such,graphene sheets and carbon nanotubes have been employed as alternative supports to improve the stability of anodes in fuel cells. In this context,we have used polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP)combined with a one-stepchemical reduction induced by ethylene glycol to synthesize PdNPs dispersed on chemically converted graphene (CCG).We compared the electrochemical stability of PdNPs supported on carbon black(C),multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs)and CCG. MWCNTs and CCG make PdNPs electrochemically more stable than carbon black.Pd/CCG catalysts are more stable than Pd/ MWCNTs during the first potential cycles,while Pd/MWCNTs showed a higher long-term stability.