Electrochemistry of palladium with emphasis on size dependent electrochemistry of water soluble palladium nanoparticles

Palladium metal in its various forms has been heavily studied for many catalytic, hydrogen storage and sensing applications and as an electrocatalyst in fuel cells. A short review on various applications of palladium and the mechanism of Pd nanoparticles synthesis will be discussed in chapter 1. Size dependent properties of various metal nanoparticles and a thermodynamic theory proposed by Plieth to predict size dependent redox properties of metal nanoparticles will also be discussed in chapter 1.

To evaluate size dependent stability of metal nanoparticles using electrochemical techniques in aqueous media, a synthetic route was designed to produce water soluble Pd nanoparticles. Also, a purification technique was developed to obtain monodisperse metal nanoparticles to study size dependent stability using electrochemical methods. Chapter 2 will describe in detail the synthesis, characterization and size dependent anodic dissolution studies of water soluble palladium nanoparticles.

The cost associated with using expensive metal catalysts can further decreased by using the underpotential deposition (UPD) technique, in which one metal is electrodeposited in monolayer or submonolayer form on a different metal substrate. Electrochemically, this process can be detected by the presence of a deposition peak positive to the bulk deposition potential in a cyclic voltammetry (CV) experiment. The difference between the bulk deposition potential and underpotential deposition peak (i.e. the UPD shift), which is a measure of the energetics of the monolayer deposition step, depends on the work function difference between the metal pairs. Chapter 3 will explore how metal nanoparticles of different sizes will change the energetics of the UPD phenomenon, using the UPD of Cu on palladium nanoparticles as an example. It will be shown that the UPD shift depends on the size of the nanoparticle substrate in a way that is understandable based on the Plieth model.

High electrocatalytic activity of palladium towards ethanol oxidation in an alkaline medium makes it an ideal candidate for the anode electrocatalyst in direct ethanol based fuel cells (DEFCs). Chapter 4 will explore the poisoning of the catalytic activity of palladium in the presence of halide impurities, often used in synthesis of palladium nanoparticles as precursors or shape directing agents.