Composites of platinum particles embedded into poly(6-cyanoindole)/poly(styrenesulfonic acid) for methanol oxidation

Poly(6-cyanoindole) (P(CnId)) is blended with poly(styrenesulfonic acid) via doping periods of 1, 10, 20, and 30 s to obtain P(CnId)-1PSS, P(CnId)-10PSS, P(CnId)-20PSS, and P(CnId)-30PSS elec-trodes, respectively. FT-IR studies have revealed that P(CnId) is doped with PSS. Pt particles can be doped into P(CnId)-1PSS, P(CnId)-10PSS, P(CnId)-20PSS, and P(CnId)-30PSS by chro-nocoulometry (0.15 C) using electrodeposition to acquire P(CnId)-1PSS-Pt, P(CnId)-10PSS-Pt, P(CnId)-20PSS-Pt, and P(CnId)-30PSS-Pt films, respectively. For comparative purposes, in this study, Pt particles were deposited into P(CnId) under the same conditions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterization revealed that platinum distributes more uniformly into the as-prepared P(CnId)-10PSS films. The anodic peak currents could be clearly observed to reach the saturation point at a methanol concentration larger than 0.8 M. A large electrocatalytic current towards methanol oxidation (27 mA cm(-2) mg(-1)) was noticed in P(CnId)-10PSS-Pt electrodes in comparison to P(CnId)-Pt without PSS (6.3 mA cm(-2) mg(-1)) at +0.86 V (vs. RHE), indicating that the P(CnId)-10PSS-Pt electrode reveals potential applicability as an electrocatalyst support. (C) 2020 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.