Abstract
Aromatic polypyrene was synthesized by the oxidative polymerization of pyrene with potassium tetrachloropalladate (II), as oxidant. During the polymerization process the palladium salt was reduced to metallic palladium and forms the metal-polymer composite material. Polypyrene stabilized palladium nanoparticles showed electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of methanol. The performance of the electrocatalytic activity was substantially improved with the incorporation of graphene oxide to the palladium-polypyrene composite and the synergistic performance was attributed to the electronic and structural properties of the system.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 095306 |
| Journal | Materials Research Express |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2017 |
Funding
The authors acknowledge financial support from the University of Johannesburg and the National Research Foundation, South Africa. SS, DKN and ND further acknowledge financial support from the Global Excellence and Stature fellowship from the University of Johannesburg.
Keywords
- Graphene oxide
- Methanol oxidation
- Palladium nanoparticles
- Pyrene oxidation