Carbon Supported Alloy Pd-Fe Catalyst: Preperation and Electrocatalytic Activity for Oxygen Reduction

The Pd-Fe/C catalyst was prepared by the complexing reduction method using NH4Cl as the complex agent at the low temperature. The high alloy Pd-Fe/C catalyst Pd and Fe could be prepared at low temperature due to the complex formation by NE4Cl and Pd, which leads to a negative shift for the reduction potential of PdCl2, making the reduction potential of PdCl2 closer to that of FeCl3. The XPS results show that the alloying of Pd with Fe could affect the binding energies of Pd and increase the content of Pd-0 in the catalyst. Thus, the electrocatalytic activity of the Pd-Fe/C catalyst obtained for the oxygen reduction is higher than that of the Pd/C catalyst prepared with the same method. Furthermore, this Pd-Fe/C catalyst has no electrocatalytic activity for the methanol oxidation.