Ethanol electro-oxidation in alkaline media on Pd/electrodeposited reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite modified nickel foam electrode

In this work, an electrocatalyst, consisting of Pd nanoparticles in an electrochemically-reduced graphene oxide (Pd/ERGO) nanocomposite, was synthesized by the one-pot simultaneous electrochemical deposition technique, on a Ni foam (NiF) electrode. The structural and morphological characterization of the Pd/ERGO nanocomposite was analyzed using several techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), XPS, EDS, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XPS results for the Pd/ERGO composites showed the successful electrochemical reduction of graphite oxide (GO) to ERGO and the presence of metallic Pd in the nanocomposite structure. The electrooxidation of ethanol on a Pd/ERGO/NiF electrode was then studied using cyclic voltammetry. Electrochemical measurements of the Pd/ERGO composite electrode demonstrated higher electrocatalytic activity (with current density of similar to 130 mA cm(-2)) for ethanol electro-oxidation in an alkaline medium, at room temperature, than for either naked NiF or ERGO-modified NiF (ERGO/NiF) under the same conditions. Further, Pd/ERGO nanocomposite had greater chronoamperometric stability for ethanol electro-oxidation compared to both naked NiF and ERGO/NiF electrodes. The results showed that a nanocomposite modified electrode can be preferred as a potential electrode material for energy storage and conversion applications.