Investigation of Electrocatalytic Properties of Pt/Mo - Expanded Graphite Composite Derived from Graphite Intercalation Compound

Abstract

In the present work, electrocatalytic properties of Pt-EG and Pt/Mo-EG composite electrodes are studied. These composites were prepared by a three-step synthesis. First, stage-1 HClO4-GIC was synthesized using the chronopotentiometric method. Then, HClO4-GIC was heat treated to obtain expanded graphite. Finally, expanded graphite was coated with platinum catalyst from a water-alcohol solution of H2PtCl6. MoCl5-GIC synthesized in parallel was subjected to thermal exfoliation to get Mo-EG composite onto which platinum catalyst was dispersed. The X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray analyses coupled with scanning electron microscopy were applied for characterizing the obtained GICs and EG-based composites, whereas cyclic voltammetry was used to study electrocatalytic properties of Pt/EG and Pt/Mo-EG composite electrodes in sulfuric acid and sulfuric acid admixed with methanol.