Highly dispersed Pd nanoparticles on 9-amino-1-azabenzanthrone functionalized graphene-like carbon surface for methanol electro-oxidation in alkaline medium

A simple and convenient procedure has been reported for the preparation of high dispersion Pd nanoparticles on a graphene-like carbon (GLC) surface functionalized by 9-amino-1-azabenzanthrone (AABZ). Catalyst activity for methanol electro-oxidation in fuel cells was investigated by cyclic voltammetry in alkaline medium. It was observed that the forward peak current density of Pd-AABZ/GLC catalyst is 770 A g−1Pd, which is 1.9 and 1.2 times higher than that of the Pd on commercial carbon black and reduced graphene oxide. The current at 3600 s of the chronoamperometric experiments for the Pd-AABZ/GLC catalysts is 230 A g−1Pd, which is 2.54 times higher than that of Pd/XC-72 (Pd/commercial Vulcan XC-72 carbon black). Pd-AABZ/GLC composite exhibits superior electro-catalytic activity toward methanol oxidation and is a promising candidate for application in direct methanol fuel cells. Besides, these findings will be propitious to the use of GLC as catalyst carrier for direct methanol fuel cells.