Carboxymethyl chitosan-assisted uniformly anchored Pd nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes for methanol electrooxidation in alkaline media

A carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC)-assisted method is developed for the preparation of a palladium (Pd) nanoparticles (NPs)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) nanohybrid. The addition of a small amount of CMC to the reaction solution leads to the production of well-crystallised metallic Pd NPs with small diameter and uniformly dispersed on CNTs. The obtained Pd NPs supported on CNTs show enhanced catalytic activity and stability for the electrochemical oxidation of methanol in alkaline media. The as-developed Pd NPs/CNTs nanohybrid is a highly promising catalyst for use in fuel cell technology.