Composites of commercially available graphene oxide and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) with solvent additive ethylene glycol were investigated as an alternative support for Pt nanoparticles towards the electrocatalytic reduction of oxygen.

Composites of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and conducting polymers synthesized from 8amino-2-naphthalene sulfonic acid (8-ANSA), 5-amino-1-naphthalene sulfonic acid (5-ANSA), 2-amino-1naphthalene sulfonic acid (2-ANSA), and 4-amino-1-naphthalene sulfonic (4-ANSA) were prepared for use as an electrocatalyst in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The electrocatalytic activities were examined in oxygen saturated 0.1 M KOH solution using cyclic and linear sweep voltammetry. The best performing polymer composite was found to be GC/poly(8-ANSA)/rGO, with an enhanced electrocatalytic activity over the rGO only and poly(8-ANSA) only films. More than 100 mV positive shift in the onset potential and 1.6 times increase in current density were observed. The catalytic activity of 2-ANSA, 4-ANSA, 5-ANSA, and 8-ANSA was also validated by density functional theory (DFT). Our calculations predict a much better catalytic activity for 8-ANSA than that of 2-ANSA, 4-ANSA, and 5-ANSA.

This work investigated the potential application of roll-to-roll printed PEDOT:PSS on an ITO/PET substrate using Pb2+ containing 0.1 M NaCl aqueous solution for a supercapattery.