TY - JOUR

T1 - Cryogels from Pt/γ-Fe2O3 and Pd/γ-Fe2O3 NPs as Promising Electrocatalysts for Ethanol Oxidation Reaction

AU - Borg, Hadir

AU - Morales, Irene

AU - Kranz, Daniel

AU - Bigall, Nadja C.

AU - Dorfs, Dirk

N1 - Funding Information: The authors are grateful for financial support from DFG (INST 187/782-1 and INST 187/782-2, as well as BI 1708/4-3). The work has additionally been funded by Germany’s excellence strategy within the cluster of excellence PhoenixD (EXC 2122, project ID 390833453). D.K. would like to thank the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) for the financial support.

PY - 2023/7/6

Y1 - 2023/7/6

N2 - Cryogels from noble metal NPs have proven to be highly efficient catalysts due to their high specific surface area which increases the mass transfer channels and catalytic active sites. By using metal oxides as co-catalysts, the costs of the material can be significantly reduced, while the catalytic activity can remain the same or even improve due to synergetic effects. In this work, we synthesize different cryogel thin films supported on modified ITO substrates from Pt, Pd nanoparticles (NPs), and mixtures of these noble metals with γ-Fe2O3 NPs in a very low concentration (1 wt% of the noble metal). Structural and elemental analysis of the samples are performed, along with the measurement and analysis of their catalytic activity. The electrocatalytic activity of the cryogels towards ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) in alkaline media was evaluated by means of cyclic voltammetry. By mixing γ-Fe2O3 NPs with Pt or Pd NPs in the cryogel structure, we observe increased tolerance against poisonous surface intermediates produced during the EOR. Moreover, we observe an increase in the catalytic activity towards EOR in the case of the 1 wt% Pd/γ-Fe2O3 cryogel, making them promising materials for the development of direct ethanol fuel cells.

AB - Cryogels from noble metal NPs have proven to be highly efficient catalysts due to their high specific surface area which increases the mass transfer channels and catalytic active sites. By using metal oxides as co-catalysts, the costs of the material can be significantly reduced, while the catalytic activity can remain the same or even improve due to synergetic effects. In this work, we synthesize different cryogel thin films supported on modified ITO substrates from Pt, Pd nanoparticles (NPs), and mixtures of these noble metals with γ-Fe2O3 NPs in a very low concentration (1 wt% of the noble metal). Structural and elemental analysis of the samples are performed, along with the measurement and analysis of their catalytic activity. The electrocatalytic activity of the cryogels towards ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) in alkaline media was evaluated by means of cyclic voltammetry. By mixing γ-Fe2O3 NPs with Pt or Pd NPs in the cryogel structure, we observe increased tolerance against poisonous surface intermediates produced during the EOR. Moreover, we observe an increase in the catalytic activity towards EOR in the case of the 1 wt% Pd/γ-Fe2O3 cryogel, making them promising materials for the development of direct ethanol fuel cells.

KW - cryogels

KW - cyclic voltammetry

KW - electrocatalysis

KW - ethanol oxidation reaction

KW - metal oxide

KW - nanoparticles

KW - Pd

KW - Pt

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85166279031&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/catal13071074

DO - 10.3390/catal13071074

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85166279031

VL - 13

JO - CATALYSTS

JF - CATALYSTS

SN - 2073-4344

IS - 7

M1 - 1074

ER -