Fe3O4 nano-octahedra and SnO2 nanorods modifying low-Pd amount electrocatalysts for alkaline direct ethanol fuel cells

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Gentil, Tuani C., Lucchetti, Lanna E. B., Moura, João Paulo C., Silva, Júlio César M., Minichov, Maria, Briega-Martos, Valentín, Trench, Aline B., Batista, Bruno L., Cherevko, Serhiy, Santos, Mauro C.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Gentil, Tuani C.
Lucchetti, Lanna E. B.
Moura, João Paulo C.
Silva, Júlio César M.
Minichov, Maria
Briega-Martos, Valentín
Trench, Aline B.
Batista, Bruno L.
Cherevko, Serhiy
Santos, Mauro C.
author_facet Gentil, Tuani C.
Lucchetti, Lanna E. B.
Moura, João Paulo C.
Silva, Júlio César M.
Minichov, Maria
Briega-Martos, Valentín
Trench, Aline B.
Batista, Bruno L.
Cherevko, Serhiy
Santos, Mauro C.
contents This work describes the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) in alkaline medium using low-palladium nanoparticle electrocatalysts modified by Fe3O4 nano-octahedra and SnO2 nanorods. Operation studies on an alkaline direct ethanol fuel cell (ADEFC) were conducted using the developed electrocatalysts, and stability studies were performed using the advanced scanning flow cell (SFC) technique coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (online SFC-ICP-MS). The EOR was catalyzed by single (Pd/C and commercial Pd/C Alfa Aesar) and by synthesized binary and ternary electrocatalysts, in which Fe3O4 and SnO2 nanostructures partially replaced the high-cost noble metal. The PdFe3O4/C was identified as the most promising synthesized material in the electrochemical studies, exhibiting the highest mass activity (1426 mA mg-1 Pd) by cyclic voltammetry (CV), followed by the binary PdSnO2/C (1135 mA mg-1 Pd), and by the ternary (1074 mA mg-1 Pd). This enhancement was attributed to the bifunctional mechanism enabled by Fe3O4 and SnO2, therefore reducing poisoning and improving the EOR. Moreover, the operating results revealed that PdFe3O4/C showed the highest power density among the synthesized materials (31 mW cm-2 at 70 C), even with an approximately 45 percent reduction in Pd content compared to the commercial catalyst. XPS results showed that the Pd 3d5/2 and 3d3/2 peaks for PdFe3O4/C, PdSnO2/C, and PdFe3O4SnO2/C were shifted by approximately 0.5 eV to higher binding energies compared to Pd/C, indicating a loss of electron density in Pd due to strong metal-oxide interactions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_07206
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Fe3O4 nano-octahedra and SnO2 nanorods modifying low-Pd amount electrocatalysts for alkaline direct ethanol fuel cells
Gentil, Tuani C.
Lucchetti, Lanna E. B.
Moura, João Paulo C.
Silva, Júlio César M.
Minichov, Maria
Briega-Martos, Valentín
Trench, Aline B.
Batista, Bruno L.
Cherevko, Serhiy
Santos, Mauro C.
Materials Science
This work describes the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) in alkaline medium using low-palladium nanoparticle electrocatalysts modified by Fe3O4 nano-octahedra and SnO2 nanorods. Operation studies on an alkaline direct ethanol fuel cell (ADEFC) were conducted using the developed electrocatalysts, and stability studies were performed using the advanced scanning flow cell (SFC) technique coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (online SFC-ICP-MS). The EOR was catalyzed by single (Pd/C and commercial Pd/C Alfa Aesar) and by synthesized binary and ternary electrocatalysts, in which Fe3O4 and SnO2 nanostructures partially replaced the high-cost noble metal. The PdFe3O4/C was identified as the most promising synthesized material in the electrochemical studies, exhibiting the highest mass activity (1426 mA mg-1 Pd) by cyclic voltammetry (CV), followed by the binary PdSnO2/C (1135 mA mg-1 Pd), and by the ternary (1074 mA mg-1 Pd). This enhancement was attributed to the bifunctional mechanism enabled by Fe3O4 and SnO2, therefore reducing poisoning and improving the EOR. Moreover, the operating results revealed that PdFe3O4/C showed the highest power density among the synthesized materials (31 mW cm-2 at 70 C), even with an approximately 45 percent reduction in Pd content compared to the commercial catalyst. XPS results showed that the Pd 3d5/2 and 3d3/2 peaks for PdFe3O4/C, PdSnO2/C, and PdFe3O4SnO2/C were shifted by approximately 0.5 eV to higher binding energies compared to Pd/C, indicating a loss of electron density in Pd due to strong metal-oxide interactions.
title Fe3O4 nano-octahedra and SnO2 nanorods modifying low-Pd amount electrocatalysts for alkaline direct ethanol fuel cells
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.07206