Metal–Polymer Nanocomposites with Carbon Fillers for the Catalytic Oxidation of Formic Acid

Abstract

Metal–polymer Pt–Pd nanocomposites on a Nafion polymer membrane modified with carbon nanotubes and carbon black are synthesized by the chemical reduction of ions in aqueous organic solutions of reverse microemulsions. The functional characteristics of the nanocomposites are studied by cyclic voltammetry and atomic force microscopy. The synthesized nanocomposites exhibit strong catalytic activity in the formic acid oxidation reaction. It is found that, at the optimum ratio of platinum metals, the catalytic activity of the metal–polymer composites is higher than that of the carbon nanocomposites.