(212g) Interface Engineering in Low-PGM Catalysts for Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells

A new strategy to controllably regulate the local bonding states and local coordination environment (LCE) in the classic carbon-supported metal catalysts for direct ethanol fuel cells will be discussed. Particularly, we use F-doped Pd-X-C (X = N, P, S, B) as model systems to study the LCE effects on oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). The N-rich Pd surface with regulated LCE not only boosts the activity of Pd but also enhances the catalyst stability by inhibiting the migration and agglomeration of Pd as well as endowing carbon support with long-term anti-corrosion properties. As a result, an unbeatable power density of 0.57 W cm^-2 with more than 5,900 hours of operation was achieved in direct ethanol fuel cells using the proposed LCE-regulated catalysts, remarkably outperforming benchmarking catalysts. In an extended study, the concept of F-induced LCE regulation can be applied to other Pd-X-C catalysts (X = P, S, B) with drastically improved activities and stabilities.