Promotion of Hydrogen Desorption from Palladium Surfaces by Fluoropolymer Coating

Delmelle, Renaud;Ngene, Peter;Dam, Bernard;Bleiner, Davide;Borgschulte, Andreas
(2016) ChemCatChem — Vol. 8, n° 9, p. 1646-1650 (2016)

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Authors
  • Ngene, PeterUU
    Author
  • Dam, BernardTU Delft
    Author
  • Bleiner, DavideEmpa
    Author
  • Borgschulte, AndreasEmpa
    Author
Abstract
The catalytic activity of Pd surfaces towards hydrogen desorption was significantly improved by a nanometer-thin polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) layer, as shown by an enhancement in the permeability of a Pd membrane coated on the permeate side. The origin of this effect was found to be due to a lowering of the barrier for hydrogen desorption, as evidenced by a change in the rate-limiting mechanism of hydrogen permeation through the membrane from desorption (un-coated) to diffusion controlled. In situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the electronic structure of the sputtered PTFE. Apart from C–Fn subunits (n=1, 2, 3), we found that nonsaturated carbon atoms became hydrogenated during hydrogen permeation, which was indicative of an interaction between Pd and PTFE. This interaction was weak; no Pd−F bonds were formed. We thus attributed the effect to an increase in the hydrophobicity of the surface by the porous PTFE layer and to a promoter effect of hydrogen desorption as a result of electrostatic interactions between chemisorbed hydrogen and physisorbed PTFE.
Affiliations
  • Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and TechnologyLaboratory for Advanced Analytical Technologies
  • Utrecht UniversityDebye Institute for Nanomaterials Science
  • Delft University of TechnologyMaterials for Energy Conversion and Storage

Citations

Delmelle, R., Ngene, P., Dam, B., Bleiner, D., & Borgschulte, A. (2016). Promotion of Hydrogen Desorption from Palladium Surfaces by Fluoropolymer Coating. ChemCatChem, 8(9), 1646-1650. https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.201600168 (Original work published 2016)