A Monolithic Carbon Foam-Supported Pd-Based Catalyst towards Ethanol Electro-Oxidation in Alkaline Media

Typically, porous carbon granules, such as activated carbons and graphene sheets, are used as supporting materials to promote the catalytic activity of metallic catalysts. Herein, we report to apply one novel kind of carbon materials, carbon foam with a honeycomb-type open cell structure, as a promising monolithic support. The as-proposed carbon foam-supported Pd-based nanocatalysts are successfully fabricated by the layer-reduction method, and characterized by different physicochemical methods. Experimental results demonstrate that the Pd-based catalysts with a particle size around 4.0 nm are well dispersed on the surface of the cell wall in the carbon foam, and in contrast to the conventional Pd/C, the Pd/CF catalysts show better electrocatalytic activity toward the EOR in alkaline media. It is also found that the Pd1Ni2/CF catalyst shows the best catalytic activity and stability for the EOR, with the onset potential 90 mV more negative than that of Pd/CF, and the peak mass activity 2.8 times higher than that of Pd/CF. (C) 2016 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.