Electrocatalytic activity of copper co-deposited with palladium for oxygen reduction reaction

• Main Author: Aw, Aloysius Zhi Zhong
• Other Authors: Hirotaka Sato
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/64976
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

For decades, Platinum has been the preferred choice as an electrocatalyst for fuel cells due to its superior catalytic activities. It exhibits the highest form of catalytic activity, stability, selectivity and poisoning resistance as compared to other noble metals. However, Platinum is limited by its poor durability and high susceptibility to carbon monoxide poisoning. Also, it is costly and scarcely available. Hence, much emphasis has been placed in researching for an alternative to replace Platinum as an electrocatalyst. Moreover, existing methods of synthesis of the metal nanoparticles require laborious supervision and consume a substantial amount of time. A more efficient methodology of deposition is needed. In this report, a facile method of deposition of the Palladium-Copper bi-metallic nanoparticles onto the surface of the electrode will be discussed. The investigations are essentially focused on the Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV) measurements. Based on the data gathered, key indicators of the catalytic activity such as Electrochemical Active Surface Area (ECSA), Half-wave Potential and Specific Activity (Is) were tabulated. Experimental results proved that the catalytic activity of Palladium can be improved by co-depositing Copper with Palladium under controlled conditions.