Synthesis, characterization and electrocatalytic study of Pd supported on CeO2–N, S-rGO composite towards hydrogen and oxygen evolution reaction

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 32; no. 9; pp. 12241 - 12252
• Main Authors: Woldetinsay, Mengistu, Soreta, Tesfaye R., Palani, Krishnamurthy, Maiyalagan, Thandavarayan, Olu, Femi Emmanuel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.05.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Cerium oxides; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemical reduction; Chemical synthesis; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electrocatalysts; Electrolysis; Graphene; Hydrogen evolution reactions; Hydrogen production; Materials Science; Metal oxides; Nanoparticles; Nitrogen; Optical and Electronic Materials; Oxidation; Oxygen evolution reactions; Palladium
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-021-05853-2

The sustainable production of hydrogen and oxygen through the electrolysis of water requires the development of an efficient electrocatalyst. In this work, we report the electrocatalytic activity of Pd nanoparticles dispersed on CeO 2 /N, S-rGO (where N, S-rGO represents nitrogen and sulfur-doped reduced graphene oxide). The CeO 2 /N, S-rGO and Pd nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal and chemical reduction methods, respectively. Electrochemical measurements towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) show a high electrocatalytic activity of the catalyst. Among the synthesized electrocatalysts Pd/CeO 2 /N, S-rGO exhibits lower overpotential (75 mV and 240 mV) at 10 mA/cm 2 and lower Tafel slope value (44 mV/dec and 42 mV/dec) for HER and OER, respectively. The chronoamperometric and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) of the electrocatalyst shows a negligible decrease in the current density for twelve hours and a minor change in the polarization curve after 10,000 cycles, respectively. The high electrocatalytic activity and superior stability of the synthesized electrocatalyst could be attributed to the synergetic effect between Pd nanoparticles and CeO 2 /N, S-rGO support. This work demonstrates a facile way to develop effective and stable electrocatalysts by exploiting the Pd/Metal oxide interface.