Autor: |
Castegnaro MV; Electron Spectroscopy Lab (LEe-), Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) , Avenida Bento Gonçalves, 9500, 91501-970 Porto Alegre, RS Brazil., Paschoalino WJ; Instituto de Química de São Carlos (USP) , 13560-970 São Carlos, SP Brazil., Fernandes MR; Instituto de Química de São Carlos (USP) , 13560-970 São Carlos, SP Brazil., Balke B; Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität , 55099 Mainz, Germany., M Alves MC; Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) , Avenida Bento Gonçalves, 9500, 91501-970 Porto Alegre, RS Brazil., Ticianelli EA; Instituto de Química de São Carlos (USP) , 13560-970 São Carlos, SP Brazil., Morais J; Electron Spectroscopy Lab (LEe-), Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) , Avenida Bento Gonçalves, 9500, 91501-970 Porto Alegre, RS Brazil. |
Abstrakt: |
The increasing global needs for clean and renewable energy have fostered the design of new and highly efficient materials for fuel cells applications. In this work, Pd-M (M = Pd, Cu, Pt) and Pt nanoparticles were prepared by a green synthesis method. The carbon-supported nanoparticles were evaluated as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline medium. A comprehensive electronic and structural characterization of these materials was achieved using X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Their electrochemical properties were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, while their activities for the ORR were characterized using steady-state polarization experiments. The results revealed that the bimetallic nanoparticles consist of highly crystalline nanoalloys with size around 5 nm, in which the charge transfer involving Pd and M atoms affects the activity of the electrocatalysts. Additionally, the samples with higher ORR activity are those whose d-band center is closer to the Fermi level. |