Preparation of well-dispersed PdAu bimetallic nanoparticles on reduced graphene oxide sheets with excellent electrochemical activity for ethanoloxidation in alkaline media

Abstract

Chemically reduced graphene oxide sheets-supported PdAu (PdAu/CRG) nanocomposites were prepared facilely by co-reduction of graphene oxide sheets, PdCl₂ and HAuCl₄. Then the PdAu/CRG nanocomposites were characterized by using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results reveal that PdAu bimetallic nanoparticles with an average diameter of 6 nm are dispersed uniformly on the chemically reduced graphene oxide sheets (CRG). The electrocatalytic performance of the PdAu/CRG catalyst was studied by cyclic voltammetric and chronoamperometric measurements. Electrochemical experiments show that the PdAu/CRG catalyst has excellent catalytic activity and good stability for ethanol oxidation, indicating that the readily available CRG is an outstanding catalyst carrier for ethanol oxidation in alkaline media.