Nitrogen-doped graphene supported Pt nanoparticles with enhanced performance for methanol oxidation

• N-doped graphene was prepared by pyrolysis of graphene oxide/polyaniline composites.
• Graphene oxide guides the graphene-like structures formed from polyaniline in pyrolysis.
• The reaction medium compositions greatly affect the structure of N-doped graphene.
• Pt/N-doped graphene with optimized composition presents high methanol oxidation activity.

A series of nitrogen-doped graphene nanocomposites (N-RGO) derived from pyrolysis of graphene oxide (GO)/polyaniline composites with varied mass ratio between GO and aniline were used as support for immobilization of Pt nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to characterize the morphology and microstructure of the prepared catalysts. The catalytic activity of the catalysts towards the oxidation of methanol was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry. Compared to the undoped Pt/RGO catalyst, an enhanced electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation was obtained in the case of the Pt/N-RGO with optimized composition and nanostructure.