Small Addition of Boron in Palladium Catalyst, Big Improvement in Fuel Cell’s Performance: What May Interfacial Spectroelectrochemistry Tell?

• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b00416
• Publication Date: 2016-03-03T15:50:00Z
• Authors: Kun Jiang; Jinfa Chang; Han Wang; Sylvain Brimaud; Wei Xing; R. Jürgen Behm; Wen-Bin Cai
• Keywords: 01 natural sciences; 7. Clean energy; 0104 chemical sciences

Direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC) with Pd-based catalyst anode is a promising energy converter to power portable devices. However, its commercialization is entangled with insufficient activity and poor stability of existing anode catalysts. Here we initially report that a DFAFC using facilely synthesized Pd-B/C with ca. 6 at. % B doping as the anode catalyst yields a maximum output power density of 316 mW cm(-2) at 30 °C, twice that with a same DFAFC using otherwise the state-of-the-art Pd/C. More strikingly, at a constant voltage of 0.3 V, the output power of the former cell is ca. 9 times as high as that of the latter after 4.5 h of continuous operation. In situ attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy is applied to probe comparatively the interfacial behaviors at Pd-B/C and Pd/C in conditions mimicking those for the DFAFC anode operation, revealing that the significantly improved cell performance correlates well with a substantially lowered CO accumulation at B-doped Pd surfaces.