Facile electrooxidation of ethanol on reduced graphene oxide supported Pt–Pd bimetallic nanocomposite surfaces in acidic media

Development of electrocatalysts with extended homogeneity and improved metal-support interactions is of urgent scientific need in the context of electrochemical energy applications. Herein, bimetallic Pt-Pd nanoparticles with good homogeneity are fabricated using a convenient solution phase chemical reduction method onto a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) support. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that Pt-Pd/rGO possesses the crystallite size of 3.1 nm. The efficacies of Pt-Pd/rGO catalyst (20 wt% Pt + 10 wt% Pd on rGO support, Pt:Pd atomic ratio = 1:1) towards ethanol electrooxidation reaction (EOR) are evaluated in acidic conditions by cyclic voltammetry using catalyst-coated glassy carbon electrode as a working electrode. With the better dispersion on rGO support the Pt-Pd/rGO nancomposite catalyst exhibit highest mass specific activity (0.358 mA/µg-Pt) which is observed to be 1.9 times of similarly synthesized 20 wt% Pt/rGO (0.189 mA/µg-Pt) and 2.5 times of commercial 20 wt% Pt/C (0.142 mA/µg-Pt), respectively. Apart from the observed improved EOR activity, the Pt-Pd/rGO catalyst exhibited better stability than Pt/rGO and Pt/C catalysts. Strong synergy offered by Pt, Pd and rGO support could contribute to the observed higher EOR activity of Pt-Pd/rGO.