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On the Preparation and Testing of Fuel Cell Catalysts Using the Thin Film Rotating Disk Electrode Method
Published on: March 16, 2018
Combinatorial screening of highly active Pd binary catalysts for electrochemical oxygen reduction
Ki Rak Lee1, Yousung Jung, Seong Ihl Woo
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering & Center for Ultramicrochemical Process Systems, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
ACS Combinatorial Science
|November 2, 2011
Summary
Developing cost-effective fuel cell electro-catalysts is crucial. Palladium-cobalt alloys show promise as platinum alternatives for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), guided by oxygen adsorption energy calculations.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Catalysis
Background:
- Platinum-based electro-catalysts are essential for fuel cells but are expensive.
- Developing cost-effective, non-platinum alternatives is a key research area.
- Computational screening can accelerate the discovery of new electro-catalyst materials.
Purpose of the Study:
- To computationally screen palladium-based bimetallic alloys for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity.
- To experimentally validate promising candidates identified through theoretical calculations.
- To assess the utility of oxygen adsorption energy as a predictive parameter for ORR catalyst development.
Main Methods:
- Computational evaluation of eight palladium-based bimetallic electro-catalysts using theoretical models.
- Synthesis and experimental testing of selected alloys in acidic media.
- Combinatorial methods were employed for efficient material synthesis and testing.
Main Results:
- Palladium-cobalt (Pd-Co) alloy demonstrated oxygen adsorption energy closest to platinum.
- Theoretical calculations predicted Pd-Co alloy would exhibit high ORR activity.
- Experimental validation confirmed the superior ORR performance of the Pd-Co alloy.
Conclusions:
- Oxygen adsorption energy serves as a reliable single-parameter guide for developing efficient non-platinum ORR electro-catalysts.
- Palladium-cobalt alloys represent a promising direction for cost-effective fuel cell technology.
- This approach significantly reduces the experimental burden in discovering new electro-catalysts.
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