Synthesis, Characterization and Oxygen Reduction Reaction Studies of Monometallic and Bimetallic Palladium-Based Nanoparticles for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEM FC) Applications

In the search for new PEM FC electrocatalysts materials, Platinum (Pt) nanoparticles supported on carbon feature prominently. However the price of the latter makes commercial feasibility a challenge. Alternative materials and importantly, shapes of these new materials hold the promise of providing useful insight in tailoring the elecrocatalytic properties of synthesized nanoparticles to reproduce or even exceed the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) results currently obtained with the industry standard.

In recent years, Palladium (Pd) has become a viable alternative to Pt. At a fraction of the price of Pt and, with a similar lattice structure, many studies have looked at monometallic Pd and bimetallic Pt-based nanoparticles to produce electrocatalysts with a reduced Pt load and in some cases no Pt load at all.

Here, we report on the synthesis, characterization and electrocatalytic activity of monometallic and bimetallic Pd-based nanoparticles, varying in shape. Transmission Electron Microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy were used to characterize and obtain size distributions of the nanoparticles. Cyclic voltammetry and Linear sweep voltammetry electrochemical experiments were used to determine the electrochemically active surface area and oxygen reduction activity as a function of nanoparticle shapes.