Ternary Al–Mg–Ag alloy promoted palladium nanoparticles as potential catalyst for enhanced electro-oxidation of ethanol

Abstract In this report, ternary Al–Mg–Ag alloy is introduced as novel support material as well as active promoter for palladium nano catalyst. The catalytic activity is explored with respect to ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) in alkali. Pd nanoparticles supported on Al–Mg–Ag alloy is synthesized using a facile rapid solidification of melt method followed by chemical reduction. X-ray diffraction and microscopic analysis revealed uniformly distributed spherical Pd particle of nano dimension is formed on the support material. The application of the prepared catalysts for electro-chemical oxidation of ethanol is assessed by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA) and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) study. Pd/Al–Mg–Ag catalyst show remarkably high peak current density (1971 mA mg−1Pd) for EOR which is 3.36 times higher than commercial Pd/C (20%) catalyst. In addition, the synthesized catalyst show low onset potential and excellent stability towards long-term application as anode catalyst for fuel cells. The study portrays Al–Mg–Ag trimetallic alloy as a promising support material and an effective promoter. The boosted catalytic activity may be attributed to the high dispersion, high Pd utilization, synergy between metals and superior conduction between support material and Pd nanoparticles.