Deactivation resistant Pd-ZrO2 supported on multiwall carbon nanotubes catalyst for direct formic acid fuel cells
Journal article, 2015
One of the main problems of palladium based catalysts for a direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC) is their low stability during a long-term operation. In these studies, the Pd-ZrO2 catalyst supported on the multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was prepared and thermo-chemically treated. These catalysts were tested in a fuel cell for formic acid electrooxidation, and their chemical composition and structure were characterised by the XPS, STEM, HR-TEM and XRD techniques. It was found that the Pd-ZrO2/MWCNTs catalyst after synthesis causes oscillations of the cell voltage during operation resulting in significantly higher deactivation resistance than that of Pd/MWCNTs. This may be attributed to the "self-cleaning" mechanism of poisoned Pd catalyst by carbon monoxide through the electrochemical oxidation of COads (adsorbed) to CO2 (gas).
Direct formic acid fuel cell
Pd-ZrO2/MWCNTs
Deactivation resistance
Spontaneous voltage
Author
A. Malolepszy
Warsaw University of Technology
M. Mazurkiewicz
Warsaw University of Technology
L. Stobinski
Warsaw University of Technology
Polish Academy of Sciences
B. Lesiak
Polish Academy of Sciences
L. Kover
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
J. Toth
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
B. Mierzwa
Polish Academy of Sciences
A. Borodzinski
Polish Academy of Sciences
Florian Nitze
Umeå University
Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry
Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Applied Surface Chemistry
T. Wagberg
Umeå University
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
0360-3199 (ISSN)
Vol. 40 46 16724-16733Subject Categories
Chemical Sciences
DOI
10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.08.048