Methanol and Ethanol Electro-oxidation on to Platinum Loaded Reduced Graphene Oxide Surface for Fuel Cell Application

We report here electro-oxidation of methanol (MeOH) and ethanol (EtOH) onto Platinum (Pt) loaded reduced graphene oxide/Carbon-felt surface (Pt/rGO/C-felt). Graphene oxide was prepared by Hummer’s method using exfoliation technique. Apparent activation energies of electro-oxidation of methanol (MeOH) and ethanol (EtOH) onto Pt/rGO/C-felt and Pt/C-felt surfaces were determined from cyclic-voltammetry studies at different temperatures. It was observed that apparent activation energies of MeOH and EtOH oxidation onto Pt/rGO/C-felt surfaces have been reduced compared to those of Pt/C-felt surface. This indicates rGO surface plays a key role in enhancing electro-oxidation process providing efficient adsorption and de-protonation sites.