Preparation of a highly active palladium nanoparticle/polyoxometalate/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite by a simple photoreduction method and its application to the electrooxidation of ethylene glycol and glycerol

•Photoreduction is used to fabricate Pd/HPW/RGO nanomaterials (HPW represents phosphotungstic acid).•Pd/HPW/RGO exhibits enhanced activity towards alcohol in alkaline media.•The presence of phosphotungstic acid is found to enhance catalytic performance.

A one-pot phosphotungstic-acid-assisted photoreduction approach was used to fabricate reduced graphene oxide decorated with Pd nanoparticles, with the phosphotungstic acid acting as both photocatalyst and stabilizer. The resulting nanocomposites were tested, and the electrochemical results showed that their electrocatalytic activity towards the electrooxidation of ethylene glycol and glycerol could be tailored by varying the composition of the material. As a result of the increased surface area of the reduced graphene oxide and the catalytic properties of the Pd nanomaterial and phosphotungstic acid, the prepared nanocomposite exhibited better catalytic activity towards the electrooxidation of ethylene glycol and glycerol in alkaline media than commercial Pd/C catalysts.

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