Authors: Bernaurdshaw Neppolian Verónica Sáez José GonzálezGarcía Franz Grieser Roberto Gómez Muthupandian Ashokkumar
Publish Date: 2014/07/08
Volume: 18, Issue: 11, Pages: 3163-3171
Abstract
Pt–Pd bimetallic nanoparticles supported on graphene oxide GO nanosheets were prepared by a sonochemical reduction method in the presence of polyethylene glycol as a stabilizing agent The synthetic method allowed for a fine tuning of the particle composition without significant changes in their size and degree of aggregation Detailed characterization of GOsupported Pt–Pd catalysts was carried out by transmission electron microscopy TEM AFM XPS and electrochemical techniques Uniform deposition of Pt–Pd nanoparticles with an average diameter of 3 nm was achieved on graphene nanosheets using a novel dualfrequency sonication approach GOsupported bimetallic catalyst showed significant electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation The influence of different molar compositions of Pt and Pd 11 21 and 31 on the methanol oxidation efficiency was also evaluated Among the different Pt/Pd ratios the 11 ratio material showed the lowest onset potential and generated the highest peak current density The effect of catalyst loading on carbon paper working electrode was also studied Increasing the catalyst loading beyond a certain amount lowered the catalytic activity due to the aggregation of metal particleloaded GO nanosheetsWe acknowledge financial support from the Australian Research Council ARC The financial supports of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the Spanish–Indian bilateral project PRIPIBIN20110816 and SERB SR/FT/CS127/2011 DST New Delhi India are also gratefully acknowledged Dr José GonzálezGarcía passed away before this article could be submitted for publication We want to express our appreciation for him being a great coworker and friend
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