KCS

Palladium and palladium/gold based nanocatalysts have been investigated extensively as a key component for a variety of research fields such as environmental protection, electrochemical sensors, and fuel cells. In this study, sponge-like nanoporous Pd (snPd) and Pd/Au (snPd/Au) were prepared by a galvanic replacement reaction between a hierarchical Co nanostructure, which was fabricated on the glassy carbon substrate by cyclic voltammetric deposition of Co2+ ions, and K2PdCl4 (or HAuCl4). The electrocatalytic activities of the prepared films were evaluated for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) using rotating disk electrode (RDE) experiments in alkaline (0.1 M NaOH) conditions. Due to the increased active surface area, the nanoporous catalysts exhibited superior ORR activity (i.e., more positive onset and half-wave potentials, higher current density and greater number of electrons transferred) than commercial catalysts. This research was supported by the Daegu University Research Grant, 2012.