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Abstract
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Nanocomposites of polyaniline (PANI) with nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (NRGO) were synthesized through a chemical polymerization method. The nanocomposites were then used as a substrate for cobalt-palladium (CoPd) nanocatalyst appointed to serve in the alkaline methanol oxidation reaction. Morphologies and structures of the synthesized catalyst were characterized via field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) techniques. The catalytic activity of PANI-NRGO/CoPd was investigated via cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) techniques. Based on stability tests, PANI-NRGO/CoPd showed that it was able to retain 79% of its catalytic activity in methanol oxidation at an anodic maximum current density during 155 consecutive potential cycles. Regarding density functional theory (DFT) calculations, results revealed that the combination of PANI and NRGO could be effective when it comes to the energy gap (easier electron transfer) and the reactivity of the CoPd catalyst.
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