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Enhanced electrooxidation of methanol, ethylene glycol, glycerol, and xylitol over a polypyrrole/manganese oxyhydroxide/palladium nanocomposite electrode

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Abstract

A small quantity of palladium metal (Pd, 5 wt%) nanoparticles supported by a polypyrrole/manganese oxyhydroxide (PPy/MOH) nanocomposite was developed and investigated as an electrocatalyst for the alcohol electrooxidation reaction in alkaline media. In voltammetric studies, the PPy/MOH/Pd catalyst, compared to C/Pd, exhibited improved electrocatalytic activity for methanol electrooxidation. The peak current density ratios (j f/j b) for the C/Pd and PPy/MOH/Pd nanocomposite electrodes were 0.67 and 2.43, respectively, indicating that the PPy/MOH/Pd nanocomposite electrode was much more resistant to catalytic poisoning. The electrooxidation of ethylene glycol (EG), glycerol, and xylitol was also tested using the PPy/MOH/Pd nanocomposite electrode. Among these alcohol electrooxidations, that of EG exhibited the maximum power density of 430 mA cm−2. The intermediates formed during the electrooxidation reactions were removed by increasing the upper sweep potential from +0.2 to +1.0 V. The catalytic performance of the PPy/MOH nanocomposite is discussed in detail. The study results demonstrate that PPy/MOH acts as a superior catalytic supporting material for alcohol electrooxidation reactions in alkaline media.

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported by the Basic Science Research program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2011–0010538).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. R&D Education Center for Specialized Graduate School of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeollabuk–do, 561-756, Korea

    Ramanujam Kannan & Dong Jin Yoo

  2. Graduate School, Department of Energy Storage/Conversion Engineering, Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research Center, Chonbuk National University, Jeollabuk–do, 561-756, Korea

    Ramanujam Kannan & Dong Jin Yoo

  3. Department of Chemistry, Chonbuk National University, Jeollabuk–do, 561-756, Korea

    Ae Rhan Kim

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  1. Ramanujam Kannan
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  2. Ae Rhan Kim
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  3. Dong Jin Yoo
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Correspondence to Dong Jin Yoo.

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Kannan, R., Kim, A.R. & Yoo, D.J. Enhanced electrooxidation of methanol, ethylene glycol, glycerol, and xylitol over a polypyrrole/manganese oxyhydroxide/palladium nanocomposite electrode. J Appl Electrochem 44, 893–902 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-014-0706-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-014-0706-y

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