B dopant evolution in Pd catalysts after H evolution/oxidation reaction in alkaline environment

Introduction of interstitial dopants has opened a new pathway to optimize nanoparticle catalytic activity for, e.g., hydrogen evolution/oxidation and other reactions. Here, we discuss the stability of a property-enhancing dopant, B, introduced through controlled synthesis of an electrocatalyst Pd aerogel. We observe significant removal of B after the hydrogen evolution/oxidation reaction. Ab-initio calculations show that the high stability of sub-surface B in Pd is substantially reduced when H is ad/absorbed on the surface, favoring its departure from the host nanostructure. The destabilization of sub-surface B is more pronounced as more H occupies surface sites and empty interstitial sites. We hence demonstrate that the H2 fuel/product itself favors the microstructural degradation of the electrocatalyst and an associated drop in activity.