Palladium-silver polyaniline composite as an efficient catalyst for ethanol oxidation

In recent years bi-metallic materials have shown promising effect as potential catalyst layer in the fuel cells. Here, for the first time, bimetallic Ag-Pd were electrodeposited on polyaniline/glassy carbon electrode (PANI/GCE) via the constant current method, which used as efficient electrode for ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) in alkaline media. Some important parameters including applied current, deposition time and metal ratio were optimized. The obtained bimetallic AgPd/PANI/GCE catalyst showed improved catalytic performance for ethanol conversion compared with the Pd/PANI/GCE, Pd/GCE, Ag/PANI/GCE, and PANI/GCE. The catalytic enhancement is due to the synergic effect between Ag, Pd and PANI. Moreover, the proposed AgPd composite was deposited on the carbon fiber cloth (CC) to evaluate its applicability as an anode in ethanol fuel cell. To summarize, the good electrochemical performance and easy preparation make the obtained Ag-Pd bimetallic composite as a potential candidate for alkaline ethanol fuel cell.