Electrospun Palladium Nanoparticle-Loaded Carbon Nanofiber for Methanol Electro-oxidation

Abstract

Pd nanoparticle-loaded carbon nanofiber composite(Pd/CNF) was prepared via electrospinning and following carbonization techniques.In this method,the synthesis of CNF and loading Pd nanoparticles were integrated into a simple one-step,and the CNF support did not suffer from any surface functionalization treatment and could keep the robust framework.The morphology and crystal structure of Pd/CNF were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).The results indicated that uniform Pd nanoparticles were firmly dispersed on or in CNF with face-centered cubic structure.The electrocatalytic activity of Pd/CNF toward methanol oxidation was measured by cyclic voltammetry(CV) and chronoamperometry.The electrochemical measurements revealed that Pd/CNF exhibited higher electrocatalytic activity and better stability than that of commercial Pd/C.