The Electro-oxidation of Hydrazine with Palladium Nanoparticle Modified Electrodes: Dissecting Chemical and Physical Effects: Catalysis, Surface Roughness, or Porosity?

Palladium nanoparticles in the form of a layer on the surface of an electrode are shown to be electrocatalytic with respect to the four-electron oxidation of hydrazine to form dinitrogen. Quantitative voltammetry shows that the reduced overpotential in comparison with both carbon and bulk palladium electrodes partly arises from the increased surface area of the interface and partly from an increased catalytic activity of the nanoparticles relative to the bulk material. The relative catalytic activity per unit surface area of the nanoparticles as compared with the bulk material is shown to be ca. 35-45.