Electrochemical characterization of binary carbon supported Pd3Co nanocatalyst for oxygen electroreduction reaction in direct methanol fuel cells

In this paper, we report the use of binary carbon supports for fabricating membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of passive direct methanol fuel cells (PDMFCs) and their detailed electrochemical characterization. Electrocatalytic properties for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) were evaluated by polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in a PDMFC. The binary-support electrode exhibits better performance than the singlesupport electrode, and the best performance is obtained when the mass ratio of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and Vulcan XC-72 (VC) is 27:75. An eight-hour lifetime test was performed for the single cell to evaluate the durability, in which the MEA was done using MWCNT: VC with the mass ratio of 25:75. The test results show that formation of the optimal combination of MWCNT and VC support is favorable to improve the stability and durability