Generation of a Highly Efficient Electrode for Ethanol Oxidation by Simply Electrodepositing Palladium on the Oxygen Plasma-Treated Carbon Fiber Paper

• Published in: Catalysts 2021-02, Vol.11 (2), p.248
• Main Authors: Pei, Houg-Yuan, Lin, Chen-Han, Lin, Wei, Yuan, Chiun-Jye
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: carbon fiber paper; ethanol oxidation; fuel cell; Pd catalyst
• ISSN: 2073-4344; 2073-4344
• DOI: 10.3390/catal11020248

In this study, a highly efficient carbon-supported Pd catalyst for the direct ethanol fuel cell was developed by electrodepositing nanostructured Pd on oxygen plasma-treated carbon fiber paper (Pd/pCFP). The oxygen plasma treatment has been shown to effectively remove the surface organic contaminants and add oxygen species onto the CFP to facilitate the deposition of nano-structured Pd on the surface of carbon fibers. Under the optimized and controllable electrodeposition method, nanostructured Pd of ~10 nm can be easily and evenly deposited onto the CFP. The prepared Pd/pCFP electrode exhibited an extraordinarily high electrocatalytic activity towards ethanol oxidation, with a current density of 222.8 mA mg−1 Pd. Interestingly, the electrode also exhibited a high tolerance to poisoning species and long-term stability, with a high ratio of the forward anodic peak current density to the backward anodic peak current density. These results suggest that the Pd/pCFP catalyst may be a promising anodic material for the development of highly efficient direct alcohol fuel cells.