Synergistic enhancement of methanol electrooxidation activity in bimetallic Pt–Pd nanoparticles supported on reduced graphene oxide

Abstract There is a huge need for effective electrocatalysts with prolonged homogeneity, and the ideal metal-support interaction to enable progress within electrochemical energy applications. Here, we report the synthesis of bimetallic Pt–Pd nanoparticles with remarkably high uniformity using a simple solution-phase chemical reduction method supported on reduced graphene oxide (RGO). X-ray diffraction analysis indicated the crystalline nature of the Pt–Pd/RGO composite. To investigate the catalytic performance of a 1:1 ratio Pt and Pd (Pt–Pd/RGO) composite supported instilled with 20 wt% Pt,10 wt% Pd on an RGO substrate in acidic solutions, a glassy carbon electrode modified with the composite was studied as the working electrode for cyclic voltammetry-based methanol electrooxidation reaction (MOR). Notably, the mass-specific activity of this Pt–Pd/RGO nanocomposite catalyst (0.528 mA/μg-Pt) is higher than that of the analogously prepared 20 wt% Pt/RGO (0.248 mA/μg-Pt) and commercial 20 wt% Pt/C (0.227 mA/μg-Pt) by a factor of 2.1 and 2.3, respectively. Additionally, the electrochemical active surface area of Pt–Pd/RGO is 71.09 m 2 g −1 , and the onset potential ( E onset ) is 0.33 V. The ratio of the forward current ( I f ) to backward current ( I b ) for Pt–Pd/RGO is 1.72. In addition to the remarkable MOR performance, the Pt–Pd/RGO catalyst also demonstrated relatively excellent stability relative to its Pt/RGO and Pt/C counterpart. Thus, present investigations demonstrate synergetic effect of Pt, Pd and RGO for promoting MOR activity within the Pt–Pd/RGO system.