Reduced
graphene oxide (RGO)-supported bimetallic Pd
x
Ag
y
alloy nanoparticles of various
compositions were synthesized by one-pot coreduction of respective
precursors with hydrazine for use in the anode catalysis of oxidation
of butan-1-ol in alkali. The as-synthesized catalyst materials were
characterized by microscopic, spectroscopic, and diffraction techniques.
Cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry, and polarization studies
infer that a few Pd
x
Ag
y
materials exhibit an enhanced and synergistic catalytic activity
in reference to Pd and Ag nanomaterials. Among the various RGO composites
of Pd
x
Ag
y
alloy
on graphite support, the one containing the Pd
70
Ag
30
@RGO composite is the best in catalytic activity. The cycle
life of the catalyst is found to be very high, and PdO and Ag
2
O are found to be generated in the catalyst material with
little change in the catalytic capability during the 100th cycle of
CV operation. The addition of Ag upto 30 atom % in the Pd
x
Ag
y
alloy causes greater
formation of butyraldehyde and butyl butanoate among the various products.
Larger atom % of Pd helps to form sodium butyrate and sodium carbonate,
as evident from the ex situ Fourier transform infrared and high-performance
liquid chromatography study of the product mixtures and the separate
CV studies of the intermediate products. A suitable mechanism is also
proposed to fit the findings.