ELECTRO-OXIDATION OF ETHANOL ON NANOCRYSTALLINE Pd/C CATALYST PROMOTED WITH OXIDE IN ALKALINE MEDIA

Nanocrystalline Pd electrocatalyst promoted with transition metal oxide (Co3O4, NiO, and CoNiOx) is successfully synthesized on high surface carbon support by using intermittent microwave heating (IMH) method. The physical properties of the catalysts are characterized by XRD, TEM, and EDX. The results show that there is no significant microstructure change between Pd and Pd-oxide electrocatalysts and the particle sizes are in the range 5.8-3.9 nm. The linear sweep voltammogram and chronoamperometry results for the electro-oxidation of ethanol show that Pd-oxide/C electrocatalysts exhibit much better electrochemical activity and stability as compared with pure Pd/C electrocatalyst. The results show that Pd-CoNiOx/C exhibits the best stability and highest electro-oxidation activity, indicating the promising potential as an alternative electrocatalysts for the direct ethanol fuel cells.