Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Ethanol at Pd/PANI Electrocatalyst

Abstract

Palladium Pd/polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposite was prepared by a thermal reflux method as the catalyst for direct ethanol fuel cells. The Pd/PANI catalysts were characterized by using FTIR transmission electron microscopy techniques. The electrocatalytic performances of Pd/PANI catalysts for ethanol oxidation were studied by cyclic voltammetric measurement. It was found that, compared with Pd, the Pd/PANI catalyst showed superior electrocatalytic activity for ethanol oxidation when the mass ratio of Pd precursor salt to PANI was about 1:2.