Low content Ru-incorporated Pd nanowires for bifunctional electrocatalysis

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Developing efficient electrocatalysts is crucial for energy conversion technologies.
• Palladium-based nanomaterials are promising for electrochemical reactions.
• Incorporating ruthenium can enhance catalytic activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize carbon-supported palladium nanowires with low ruthenium content (nRuPd/C).
• To investigate the anti-galvanic replacement reaction for alloy formation.
• To evaluate the electrocatalytic activity of nRuPd/C for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media.

Main Methods:

• Facile synthesis via anti-galvanic replacement reaction.
• Preparation of nRuPd/C with varying Ru/Pd ratios using different Ru precursor concentrations.
• Physicochemical characterization to confirm material formation.
• Electrocatalytic activity measurement using rotating disk electrode (RDE) polarization.

Main Results:

• Successful formation of low Ru-content Pd nanowires (nRuPd/C) without individual Ru clusters.
• Electrocatalytic activity significantly influenced by ruthenium content.
• Optimized catalyst with ~1.4 wt% Ru exhibited excellent ORR and HER performance.
• Enhanced activity shown by positive onset potentials, half-wave potentials (E1/2), higher electron transfer number (n), and lower Tafel slope.

Conclusions:

• The facile synthesis method yields highly active nRuPd/C electrocatalysts.
• Low ruthenium incorporation in palladium nanowires significantly boosts ORR and HER performance.
• These nRuPd/C materials are promising for alkaline electrochemical applications.