Preparation of compact and porous Pd-Ni alloys and study of their performances for ethanol oxidation in alkali

Electrodeposition and galvanic displacement reactions are used to prepare compact and porous Pd-Ni alloys and heterogeneous bilayer structures Pd/Ni or Pd/Pd-Ni. Pd is present in the deposits either as a pure metal or in solid solutions with Ni. Electrode activity in ethanol oxidation and Pd surface area are estimated by cyclic voltammetry. Results show that, in a first approximation, the peak current of ethanol oxidation is simply proportional to the Pd area, regardless of samples morphology, structure and composition, for the entire series of samples. Deviations from the proportionality relation indicate that Pd and Pd-rich alloys are more active than Ni-rich alloys of same Pd surface.