Vanadium oxide as an electron buffer to stabilize palladium for electrocatalytic hydrodechlorination

Abstract

The application of Pd catalysts is generally limited by their cost and lower stability. In this study, a series of Pd-based catalysts were prepared using vanadium compounds as supports and applied for electrocatalytic hydrodechlorination (EHDC) of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP). The Pd/VO_x/C-700 catalyst demonstrated enhanced EHDC performance, including an efficiency of 92%, which is comparable to that of commercial Pd/C, and it was improved to 97% after 18 h of electrolysis, thus providing excellent durability. By combining characterization results and electron density difference (EDD) calculations, it was found that vanadium compounds with various structures enable the tuning of the chemical state and electronic structure of Pd. The multi-valent vanadium–oxygen structure can work as a buffer to facilitate the optimization of the electronic structure of Pd and stabilize its optimal electronic configuration.