Bismuth iii chloride

Sn–Bi alloy structure was directly grown on the CF substrate by the hydrothermal method^{14 (link),68 (link)}. Specifically, 0.143 g of Tin (II) acetate (Alfa), and 0.190 g of Bismuth (III) chloride (Sigma–Aldrich), 0.073 g of urea (Sigma–Aldrich), and 0.112 g of ammonium fluoride (Sigma–Aldrich) were transferred in 60 mL DDI water by vigorous stirring. The pH values were tuned by hydrochloric acid until the solution turned transparent. Such precursor solution along with one piece of pretreated CF (2.5 × 5.0 cm²) was transferred into a 100 mL Teflon-lined autoclave and heated to 180 °C for 10 h. Sn–Bi alloy on CF obtained from the hydrothermal process was rinsed repeatedly with DDI water and ethanol, then dried overnight at 80 °C under vacuum. The loading of Sn–Bi alloy on CF was also around 1.0 mg/cm² by weighing the CF before and after the hydrothermal procedure. SnO_x sample was also obtained by this hydrothermal method with a metal precursor composed of only Tin (II) acetate.

The following chemicals were used for the synthesis of the anode and cathode catalysts: Vulcan XC72R carbon black (CABOT Corporation), palladium chloride (PdCl₂, anhydrous, 59–60% Pd basis, Aldrich), nickel(ii) nitrate hexahydrate (Ni(NO₃)₂·6H₂O, 99% trace metal basis, Aldrich), bismuth(iii) chloride (BiCl₃, reagent grade, ≥98%, Aldrich), hydrochloric acid (HCl, ROTIPURAN® 37% fuming, p.a., ACS, ISO, Carl Roth), sodium borohydride (NaBH₄, purity of 97%, Alfa Aesar), sodium hydroxide (NaOH, ≥98%, ACS, pellets, Fluka), ultrapure water (∼18 MΩ cm, Barnstead NANOpureWater Purification system), potassium permanganate (KMnO₄, ≥99.0% p.a., Merck), and silver nitrate (AgNO₃, ≥99.8% p.a., Merck).
The following materials and chemicals were utilized for the MEA production and the half and single cell tests: ethanol (EtOH, 99.9% p.a., Roth), 2-propanol (99.9% p.a., Roth), potassium hydroxide (KOH, ≥85%, p.a., pellets), CS/N-rGONRs anion exchange membranes developed in our previous work,¹⁴ Nafion™ solution (NS-5, PTSA 5%, Quintech), commercial Pt/C (platinum, nominally 40% on carbon black, Alfa Aesar), carbon cloth (ELAT—hydrophilic plain cloth, fuel cell store, 0.406 mm thick), and carbon paper (Sigracet 29 BC, fuel cell store, 0.235 mm thick).

Palladium chloride (PdCl₂, anhydrous, 59–60% Pd basis, Aldrich), sodium chloride (NaCl, ≥ 99.5%, Carl Roth), nickel(II) nitrate hexahydrate (Ni(NO₃)₂⋅6H₂O, Aldrich), bismuth(III) chloride (BiCl₃, reagent grade, ≥ 98%, Aldrich), hydrochloric acid (HCl (aq), Carl Roth), Vulcan XC72R carbon black (CABOT Corporation, USA), sodium borohydride (NaBH₄, purity of 97%, Alfa Aesar), 2-propanol (≥ 99.8%, Honeywell), sodium hydroxide (NaOH, Fluka), and ultrapure water (~ 18 MΩ∙cm, Barnstead NANOpure Water Purification system) were used for the development of Pd₈₅Ni₁₀Bi₅ nanoparticles on the Vulcan XC72R carbon support material as anode catalysts. A commercial Pd/C (40 wt.%, Fuel Cell Store) catalyst was used as reference material.