Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Glycerol to Value-Added Compounds on Pd Nanocrystals

• Pd octahedral, rhombic dodecahedral, and cubic nanoparticles (PdOCTA, PdRD, and PdCUBE NPs) were synthesized, characterized, and studied as catalysts for the glycerol electrooxidation reaction (GEOR) in a strongly alkaline medium at 20 and 60 °C. The highest mass activity of 0.050 and 0.183 mA/μgPd was observed on PdOCTA at 20 and 60 °C, respectively, whereas PdCUBE exhibited the highest specific activity of 1.49 and 12.84 mA/cmPd2, respectively. The GEOR products were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and their selectivity and overall glycerol conversion were evaluated at 0.86 V vs RHE. The selectivity toward the three-carbon chain (C3) GEOR products was similar for the different types of catalysts, with PdOCTA and PdCUBE NPs achieving more than 50% selectivity at 20 °C and more than 60% at 60 °C. Glycerate was the overall dominant product for all catalysts, with a selectivity of up to 42%. The glycerol conversion was found to be highest for PdOCTA─21% at 20 °C and 82% at 60 °C, while PdRD was the least active and showed less than 3% conversion at 20 °C and 35% at 60 °C. Based on the GEOR product distribution, a reaction mechanism was proposed.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Nanoteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Nano-technology (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi -- Materialkemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences -- Materials Chemistry (hsv//eng)

Keyword

palladium nanocrystals

facet-controlled synthesis

electrocatalysis

glycerol oxidation

HPLC

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)