From waste to fuel cells. In situ preparation of an atomically precise Pd(II)-catalyst by selective extraction of Pd(II) from a mixture of metal ions using modified multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and its implementation in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline solution

TY - JOUR

T1 - From waste to fuel cells. In situ preparation of an atomically precise Pd(II)-catalyst by selective extraction of Pd(II) from a mixture of metal ions using modified multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and its implementation in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline solution

AU - Bonechi, Marco

AU - Cappanni, Carlotta

AU - Gentilesca , Pietro

AU - Bazzicalupi, Carla

AU - Giurlani, Walter

AU - Innocenti, Massimo

AU - Lari, Leonardo

AU - Montanari, Francesco

AU - Savastano, Matteo

AU - Severi, Mirko

AU - Bianchi, Antonio

N1 - © 2025 The Authors.

PY - 2025/5/30

Y1 - 2025/5/30

N2 - Fuel cells can effectively mitigate environmental challenges by enabling clean energy production. A significant obstacle to the implementation of fuel cells is the need for catalysts that make the electrode reactions efficient, especially the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), allowing to replace the currently used bulk platinum electrodes which are efficient but very expensive. In this paper, we demonstrate that an atomically precise and very efficient Pd(II)-based catalyst for ORR can be easily prepared under environmentally friendly conditions using non-covalently modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-L) to selectively recover precious Pd(II) from wastewater. Electrodes loaded with the new MWCNT-LPd catalyst, which contains only 1.94 % of Pd(II), give rise to ORR with 90 % H2O production (4 e− process), onset potential of 0.846 V (vs RHE) and half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.657 V, very close to the performance of bulk platinum electrodes. Sustainable energy production and waste management are combined here within the framework of a circular economy criterion that places emphasis on environment protection.

AB - Fuel cells can effectively mitigate environmental challenges by enabling clean energy production. A significant obstacle to the implementation of fuel cells is the need for catalysts that make the electrode reactions efficient, especially the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), allowing to replace the currently used bulk platinum electrodes which are efficient but very expensive. In this paper, we demonstrate that an atomically precise and very efficient Pd(II)-based catalyst for ORR can be easily prepared under environmentally friendly conditions using non-covalently modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-L) to selectively recover precious Pd(II) from wastewater. Electrodes loaded with the new MWCNT-LPd catalyst, which contains only 1.94 % of Pd(II), give rise to ORR with 90 % H2O production (4 e− process), onset potential of 0.846 V (vs RHE) and half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.657 V, very close to the performance of bulk platinum electrodes. Sustainable energy production and waste management are combined here within the framework of a circular economy criterion that places emphasis on environment protection.

U2 - 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2025.236661

DO - 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2025.236661

M3 - Article

SN - 0378-7753

VL - 639

JO - Journal of Power Sources

JF - Journal of Power Sources

M1 - 236661

ER -