MXene induced two-electron oxygen reduction of Pd for H2O2 generation

Abstract

The production of H2O2 by oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is low energy consumption and environmentally friendly. Pd/C is an effective electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction, while its selectivity is low due to a tendentious four-electron pathway ORR process. The limited reserves of palladium and inevitable corrosion issue of carbon support add extra obstacles toward practical application. In this work, Pd nanoparticles with 3–5 nm were synthesized on MXene sheets. Results indicated that Pd/MXene exhibited 3.5∼4.2 times ring current than Pd/C and much higher H2O2 selectivity. The H2O2 yield of Pd/MXene was measured to be 1.43 mol g−1 h−1. The excellence in electrochemistry was from the synergistic effect of Pd and MXene. The existence of MXene increases metallic Pd on the surface. This study on MXenes as supports of Pd nanoparticles for two-electron oxygen reduction provides extensive reference significance to H2O2 generation.