Preorganized composite material of polyaniline-palladium nanoparticles with high electrocatalytic activity to methanol and ethanol oxidation

We report a simple method for the preparation of a stabilized palladium nanoparticle-polyaniline composite by mixing aniline and PdCl42- in aqueous acidic solutions. Pd nanoparticles (Pd NP) were produced by subsequent reduction of the pre-organized material with different concentrations of NaBH4. Under optimum conditions (0.1 M NaBH4 in ethanol for 1 h at 0 degrees C), Pd NP with a size of 5-10 nm were obtained, as revealed by transmission electron microscopy. The so-formed pre-organized material was also characterized with scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. The developed catalyst exhibited a large electro-chemically active surface area (25.2 m(2) g(-1) catalyst) and remarkable mass activities for the electro-oxidation of methanol (602 A g(-1) Pd) and ethanol (433 A g(-1) Pd) in alkaline media. The excellent electrocatalytic performance of the developed polyaniline-Pd NP composite material renders it as a promising anode catalyst in alkaline fuel cells. Copyright (C) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.