Electro-oxidation of glycerol on platinum dispersed in polyaniline matrices

Films of polyaniline (PAni) were electrosynthesized on gold and glassy carbon substrates. The morphology of the films was verified using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and, as expected, the PAni film formed on glassy carbon presented fibrillar morphology, while that formed on gold presented fibrils on top of a more compact structure. Different amounts of platinum were electrodeposited into the polymer matrices at constant potential and the electrocatalytic activities of the electrodes were evaluated for glycerol electro-oxidation in acidic medium. Furthermore, the active areas of such modified electrodes were determined from the charges involved in the electro-oxidation of an adsorbed carbon monoxide monolayer. Considering the real active areas, the modified electrode with the gold substrate presents higher electrocatalytic activity for glycerol oxidation than that with the glassy carbon substrate. This difference is mainly related to their morphological characteristics and platinum particle sizes. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.