Enhanced electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol on Pd/polypyrrole-graphene in alkaline medium

The new electrocatalyst of Pd nanoparticles supported on polypyrrole-functionalized graphene (Pd/PPy-graphene) was reported. Microstructure, morphology and crystallinity of the synthesized materials were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR). scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The elements of the composite were characterized using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed that the polypyrrole-wrapped graphene support successfully discrete Pd nanoparticles with the crystallite size of about 6 nm. Catalyst activity for methanol electro-oxidation in fuel cells was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry. The fundamental electrochemical test results indicated that the electrocatalytic activity of Pd/PPy-graphene is much better than that of commercial catalyst for methanol oxidation. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.