Electrochemical Fabrication of Pd@Poly[1,2-Diphenylethylenediamine] Electrodes for Ethanol Electro-Oxidation

Herein, the pencil graphite electrode (PGE) was modified with Pd nanoparticles (Pd) and poly(1,2-diphenyl ethylenediamine) (PDPEN) using an electrochemical technique. The structural and morphological characteristics of Pd@PDPEN electrodes were examined using various methods, including field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) techniques. As-prepared Pd@PDPEN electrodes were used as electrode material for ethanol electro-oxidation. Electrodes were deposited at different cycle numbers of PDPEN and deposition times of Pd. The optimum conditions for the cycle numbers of PDPEN and the deposition time of Pd were found to be 50 cycles and 3 min, respectively. The optimum Pd@PDPEN electrode exhibited remarkable electrocatalytic activity with an ethanol electro-oxidation peak current of 280 mA cm-2. This result has important implications for producing new-generation conductive polymer-based materials to create highly efficient electrocatalysts toward ethanol electro-oxidation thanks to the simple preparation method.