Ethylene glycol electro-oxidation on Pd/C enhanced by oxides

Pd/C and oxide (CeO2, NiO and Co3O4)-promoted Pd/C for electro-oxidation reactions ethylene glycol (EG) in alkaline media were investigated. The results show that Pd/C electrocatalysts alone have low activity and very poor stability for the electro-oxidation reaction of EG. However, addition of oxides like CeO2, NiO and Co3O4 significantly promote catalytic activity and stability of the Pd/C electrocatlayts for the EG electro-oxidation. The Pd-Co3O4(2∶1)/C shows the highest activity and gives better performance for EG oxidation than E-TEK Pt/C. The activity order of oxide promoted Pd/C is Pd-Co3O4(2∶1)/CPd-NiO(4∶1)/C Pd-CeO2(1.3∶1)/C.