Anodic Oxidation of Butan-1-ol on Reduced Graphene Oxide-Supported Pd-Ag Nanoalloy for Fuel Cell Application

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO)-supported bimetallic Pd Ag alloy nanoparticles of various compositions were synthesized by one-pot coreduction of respective precursors with hydrazine for use in the anode catalysis of oxidation of butan-1-ol in alkali. The as-synthesized catalyst materials were characterized by microscopic, spectroscopic, and diffraction techniques. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry, and polarization studies infer that a few Pd Ag materials exhibit an enhanced and synergistic catalytic activity in reference to Pd and Ag nanomaterials. Among the various RGO composites of Pd Ag alloy on graphite support, the one containing the Pd₇₀Ag₃₀@RGO composite is the best in catalytic activity. The cycle life of the catalyst is found to be very high, and PdO and Ag₂O are found to be generated in the catalyst material with little change in the catalytic capability during the 100th cycle of CV operation. The addition of Ag upto 30 atom % in the Pd Ag alloy causes greater formation of butyraldehyde and butyl butanoate among the various products. Larger atom % of Pd helps to form sodium butyrate and sodium carbonate, as evident from the ex situ Fourier transform infrared and high-performance liquid chromatography study of the product mixtures and the separate CV studies of the intermediate products. A suitable mechanism is also proposed to fit the findings.