In this study, we successfully developed a palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs)-based anode catalyst for methanol oxidation by depositing Pd NPs onto nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (N-rGO). The deposition was achieved through a reduction loading method employing poly(2,5-thienyl-3-(3-pyridyl)thiophene) (PDTPrT)-modified N-rGO. The structural features of the catalyst were comprehensively characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). These analyses indicated a significantly enhanced synergistic interaction between PDTPrT and N-rGO. Furthermore, the Pd nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on the PDTPrT/N-rGO composite surface, with an average particle size of 4.73 nm. The electrocatalytic performance of the synthesized Pd/PDTPrT/N-rGO catalyst was assessed via cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The catalyst exhibited a notably high electrochemically active surface area of 51.60 mg 2 g −1 . In a 0.5 M KOH solution containing 1.0 M methanol, it demonstrated a mass activity of 760 mA mg −1 , which is 1.9 times greater than that of the Pd/N-rGO catalyst. This substantial enhancement in electrocatalytic performance is attributed to the modification of N-rGO with PDTPrT, which improved the overall conductivity of the support. Graphical abstract of Pd/PDTPrT/N-rGO.
Yao et al. (Sat,) studied this question.