Electrochemical-reduced graphene oxide-modified carbon fiber as Pt–Au nanoparticle support and its high efficient electrocatalytic activity for formic acid oxidation

A simple electrochemical approach is developed to prepare reduced graphene oxide (RGO)-wrapped carbon fiber (CF) as a novel support for Pt–Au nanocatalysts. The obtained composite electrodes have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and electrochemical methods. SEM images reveal that the Pt–Au nanoparticles deposited on RGO-wrapped CF (RGO/CF) electrode display smaller particle size and more uniform dispersion than those on the bare CF electrode. Cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, chronoamperometry, chronopotentiometry, Tafel plots, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analyses demonstrate that the introduced RGO on CF electrode surface is beneficial to the dispersion of Pt–Au nanoparticles, as a consequence, to the enhancement of the electrocatalytic activity and the antipoisoning ability of Pt–Au towards formic acid electrooxidation.