Suppressing the Pd-C interaction through B-doping for highly efficient oxygen reduction

• Published in: Carbon (New York) 2019-08, Vol.149, p.370-379
• Main Authors: Zhang, Cai, Yu, Shansheng, Xie, Yanan, Zhang, Wei, Zheng, Kang, Drewett, Nicholas E., Yoo, Seung Jo, Wang, Zizhun, Shao, Lidong, Tian, Hongwei, Kim, Jin-Gyu, Zheng, Weitao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: B-doped graphene; Boron; Carbon; Catalysis; Catalysts; Doping; Electron transfer; Graphene; Microstructure; Nanoparticles; Oxygen reduction reaction; Palladium; Pd-C interaction; Platinum; Strong interactions (field theory); Structural variation
• ISSN: 0008-6223; 1873-3891
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2019.04.060

As a potential alternative to commercial Pt/C, carbon supported Pd nanoparticles (NPs) is powerful in facilitating ORR. However, a strong interaction usually existing between Pd and carbon probably hinders the expression of ORR activity. This work focuses on tuning the interaction between Pd and graphene for architecting high-performance ORR catalyst. The strong interaction between Pd and graphene was confirmed, rendering significant microstructural variation, e.g., the dramatic change of lattice disorder and vibration of surface C-H/C-O bond for the graphene support. Boron (B)-doping enables reversing such structural evolution and suppressing the Pd-C interaction. It literates the Pd from the interaction, increases its electrochemical specific surface area (ECSA) from 68 to 125 m2 g−1 and thereof contributes to the highly efficient ORR performance in alkaline solution with more feasible 4e− pathway on a 2.8 wt% Pd/C catalyst. Moreover, theoretical simulations further proved that B-doping enhances the electron transfer between Pd and the graphene support and probably benefits a 4e− pathway for ORR. [Display omitted]