Facile synthesis of reduced graphene oxide supported Pd@NixB/RGO nanocomposite: Novel electrocatalyst for ethanol oxidation in alkaline media

摘要

A novel catalyst, palladium on nickel boride supported with reduced graphene oxide abbreviated as Pd@NixB/RGO nanocomposite was synthesized by a facile method. NixB and RGO were synthesized by a single step via the simultaneous reduction of graphene oxide (GO) and Ni2+ ions in presence of alkaline sodium borohydride (NaBH4, pH at 12.5). In the next step, Pd nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized on the surface of NixB/RGO in presence of anhydrous methanol (CH3OH) without using any specific reducing agents, which led the formation of small Pd NPs with homogeneous size distribution, suggesting the facile and green synthesis of the nanocomposite. The structure and morphology of Pd@NixB/RGO nanocomposite were characterized by several techniques. Cyclic voltammetric (CV) measurements of Pd@NixB/RGO nanocomposite towards ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) show their promising electrocatalytic behaviour. CV shows the high current density which was modified and increased upon cycling after 50 cycle, which indicates the high catalytic activity and CO tolerance capability when compared to the unsupported Pd@NixB NPs. Further, chronoamperometric (CA) measurements show the higher stability of the Pd@NixB/RGO nanocomposite compare to the Pd@NixB NPs. (C) 2015 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.