On The Proportion Of Pb And Pt In Carbon-Supported Electrocatalysts

This short report discusses the effects of different proportions of Pb and Pt in several anodes that were synthesised at a fixed catalyst load of 10 % with respect to the carbon powder support. In these studies, formic acid was used as a model molecule to determine the relationship between the proportions of metals and electrocatalytic effects. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the metal distribution was composed of separated crystallographic phases, and the formation of Pt-Pb alloys was not observed. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images demonstrated that the catalysts were heterogeneously dispersed onto the carbon powder support and that the quantity of lead was directly related to the size of the particles distributed onto the carbon support. Finally, electrochemical tests indicated that the 25% Pt - 75% PbOx-based catalyst performed best in the comparative study.