Synthesis, Characterization and Electrocatalytic study of Pd supported on CeO2 doped on N, S-rGO towards Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution

Abstract

The sustainable production of hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis of water requires the development of an efficient electrocatalyst. Herein, we synthesized Pd nanoparticles dispersed on CeO2/N, S-rGO by hydrothermal method followed by chemical reduction of Pd nanoparticles. Electrochemical measurements towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) show a high electrocatalytic activity of the catalyst. Among the synthesized electrocatalysts Pd/CeO2/N, S-rGO exhibits lower overpotential (75 mV and 240 mV) at 10 mAcm− 2 and lower Tafel slope value (44 mV dec− 1 and 42 mV dec− 1) for HER and OER, respectively. The chronoamperometric and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) of the electrocatalyst shows a negligible decrease in the current density for twelve hours and a minor change in the polarization curve after 10,000 cycles, respectively. The high electrocatalytic activity and superior stability of the synthesized electrocatalyst could be attributed to the synergetic effect between Pd nanoparticles and CeO2/N, S-rGO support. This work demonstrates a facile way to develop effective and stable electrocatalysts by exploiting the Pd/Metal oxide interface.