Pd nanoparticles(Pd-NPs)were prepared and directly anchored on the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs)in the absence of chemical reduction agent,where MWCNTs were used as both the chemical reduction agent and the support substrate of Pd-NPs.Effect of various surfactants on the in situ deposition of PdNPs on MWCNTs was investigated.When MWCNTs were modified with a cationic surfactant(hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide,CTAB),the amount of the Pd-NPs(Pd-NP/CTAB-MWCNT)generated by such an in situ deposition method gets a notable increase,and the size of the as-synthesized Pd-NPs becomes smaller,compared with those in the absence of any surfactant(Pd-NP/MWCNT)or in the presence of an anionic surfactant SDS(Pd-NP/SDS-MWCNT)and a neutral surfactant OP(PdNP/OP-MWCNT).Results show that the MWCNTs modified with CTAB are propitious to the in situ reduction of Pd2?.Among the prepared catalysts,Pd-NP/CTABMWCNT displays the highest electroactivity for ethanol oxidation in alkaline media.
In this paper,we synthesized cathode catalysts(PANI-PPYR,Fe/PANI-PPYR,Co/PANI-PPYR and Fe-Co/PANI-PPYR)with high performance oxygen reduction by using a simple heat treatment process.These catalysts were fabricated by directly calcining the Fe and/or Co doped polyaniline(PANI)-polypyrrole(PPYR)composites.Their electrocatalytic activity for ORR both in acidic and in alkaline media was investigated by voltammetric techniques.Among the prepared catalysts,Co/PANI-PPYR presents the most positive ORR onset potential of 0.62 V(vs.SCE)in 0.5 mol/L H2SO4 solution or?0.09 V(vs.SCE)in 1 mol/L NaOH solution.In addition,the Co/PANI-PPYR catalyst shows the largest limiting-diffusion current density for ORR,which is 4.3 mA/cm2@0.2 V(vs.SCE)in acidic and 2.3 mA/cm2@?0.3 V(vs.SCE)in alkaline media.In acidic media,a four-electron reaction of ORR on the Co/PANI-PPYR and Fe/PANI-PPYR catalysts is more dominant than a two-electron reaction.In alkaline media,however,a four-electron and a two-electron mechanisms are co-present for the ORR on all the prepared catalysts.Co/PANI-PPYR catalyst also presents good electrocatalytic activity stability for ORR both in acidic and in alkaline media.
