Title: Manganite nanorods supported palladium - a facile electrocatalyst for direct glycerol fuel cells

Authors: Ramanujam Kannan; Palanisamy Ravichandiran; Kulandaivelu Karunakaran

Addresses: Department of Chemistry, Sona College of Technology, Salem, India; R&D Education Center for Specialized Graduate School of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jellabuk-do 561-756, Korea ' Department of Chemistry, Sona College of Technology, Salem, India ' Department of Chemistry, Sona College of Technology, Salem, India

Abstract: Manganite (MnOOH) nanorods were synthesised by a hydrothermal method and then used as a supportive material for Palladium towards glycerol electrooxidation in alkaline medium. The smaller quantities (5 and 15 weight %) of palladium are coated on the manganite nanorods by in situ reduction method. The electrooxidation of glycerol at Pd/Manganite electrode exhibits peak current vertexes at −0.2 V, which is lower than Pd/C. By varying the alkali (KOH) and glycerol concentrations the electrocatalytic behaviour has been changed considerably and was discussed. The present study reveals that the manganite nanorods act as active support material for Pd. The support material will help to oxidise the intermediates formed during electrooxidation of fuel. The possibilities for the removal of poisonous intermediates were also discussed. The effect of support material on the electrooxidation reaction was explained by proper mechanism.

Keywords: manganite nanorods; fuel cells; glycerol electrooxidation; manganese oxide; electrocatalyst; nanotechnology; palladium.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMATEI.2014.064286

International Journal of Materials Engineering Innovation, 2014 Vol.5 No.3, pp.261 - 270

Received: 26 Dec 2012
Accepted: 21 Sep 2013
Published online: 30 Aug 2014 *

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