One-step preparation of graphitic carbon nitride/Polyaniline/Palladium nanoparticles based nanohybrid composite modified electrode for efficient methanol electro-oxidation

In this work, we report a simple one-step preparation of a novel graphitic carbon nitride/Polyaniline/Palladium nanoparticles (g-C3N4/PANI/PdNPs) based nanohybrid composite modified screen-printed electrode (SPE) for the efficient electro-oxidation reaction of methanol. g-C3N4/PANI/PdNPs nanohybrid structure was achieved by a single-step simultaneous electro-deposition method with an electrolyte solution containing palladium chloride, aniline, and g-C3N4 nanosheets. Structural and morphological characterizations depicted that the needle-shaped PANI and spherical shaped Pd NPs were deposited between g-C3N4 nanomatrix. The electrocatalytic behavior of the as-prepared nanohybrid composite modified SPE was assessed using cyclic voltammograms and chronoamperometric method, and it showed superior electro-oxidation and excellent catalytic performance over methanol oxidation compared to commercial 10% palladium loaded carbon black material and other previously reported electrode materials. These outcomes proved that the newly developed nanohybrid composite could be used as a potential electrocatalyst material for the direct methanol fuel cell applications.