Synthesis of Palladium nanoparticles decorated N-doped reduced graphene oxide and their application for ethanol oxidation in alkaline media

We report a facile one pot electrochemical Pd/N-doped RGO (Pd/N-RGO) catalyst for the ethanol oxidation in alkaline media. Graphene is synthesized from graphite electrodes using ionic liquid-assisted electrochemical exfoliation. Pd electrocatalyst then was reduced by ethylene glycol as a stabilizing agent to prepare highly dispersed Pd nanoparticles on carbon graphene oxide to be used as ethanol oxidation in direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) catalysts. X-ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscopy techniques are used to investigate the crystallite size and the surface morphologies respectively. The electrochemical characteristics of the Pd/N-RGO catalyst is investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) in nitrogen saturated ethanol aqueous solutions and KOH aqueous solution. Detailed electrochemical studies (involving chronoamperometry, cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry) prove that the electro-catalytic oxidation of ethanol at the Pd/N-RGO is more stable, occurring at lower potential, giving lower Tafel slopes compared to Pd/RGO catalyst, which can reveal the particular properties of the exfoliated N-graphene and Pd supports.