Abstract
The electrodeposition of sub-micro/nano-size Pt-Pd co-catalyst on conducting poly(3-methylthiophene) (PMT) films and the use of the resulting hybrid material for the oxidation of methanol are reported. Several factors affecting the electrocatalytic activity for this process were studied by cyclic voltarnmetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), namely, the polymer film thickness, and the catalyst amount/ratio. In addition, the effects of methanol concentration and the operating temperature were also investigated. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the thermal stability of the polymer film increased by the incorporation of the metallic particles. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) were obtained to identify the relative size of the metallic particles and their distribution. The size ranged between 3 mu m and 500 nm. Energy dispersive X-rays analysis (EDAX) was performed to identify the composition of the metallic particles. It was found that the particle composed of Pt and Pd in ratio that is comparable to that present in the feed solution.