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PtCu alloy supported on acid-treated multi-walled carbon nanotube (PtCu/MWCNT) catalysts were prepared through polyol reduction method. The prepared PtCu/MWCNT composites were annealed at different temperatures to study the effects of annealing temperatures on the particle size, structure, surface morphology, and the activity and stability of methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to study the structure and physical characteristics of the catalyst. These physical characterization analyses all confirmed the formation of PtCu alloy, and the particle size of the catalysts rose with the increase of annealing temperature. The activity and stability of catalysts were further measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and accelerated durability tests (ADTs), respectively. It was found after annealing at 400℃ that the PtCu/MWCNT catalyst has higher activity and longer durability toward MOR. This work demonstrated that PtCu catalysts after annealing in a H2 atmosphere will cause a change in the surface atomic configuration and degree of alloying of PtCu catalysts, which determines the activity and long-term durability of PtCu/MWCNT catalyst.

In this work, Ru-doped Ta2O5 was firstly synthesized as support for Pt nanoparticles by calcination and chemical precipitation. The prepared Pt/Ru-Ta2O5 catalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). These characterization methods confirm that Pt nanoparticles were successfully supported on Ru-doped Ta2O5 (Ru-Ta2O5). The TEM reveals that Pt nanoparticles with an average diameter of ca. 4.0 ± 0.5 nm were uniformly distributed on the Ru-Ta2O5. The further electrochemical characterizations including cyclic voltammograms (CV), chronoamperometry (CA), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods show that Pt/Ru-Ta2O5 catalysts have larger electrochemical surface area, better electrocatalytic activity, and higher stability toward the methanol oxidation reaction compared to the pure Ta2O5 supported Pt catalysts. The excellent electrocatalytic performance is mainly contributed to the improvement of Ru for the dispersion of Pt nanoparticles, the increased conductivity of Ta2O5, as well as the promotion of oxidation reactivity by Ru. This work demonstrated that Ru-Ta2O5 is a promising anode catalyst support for direct methanol fuel cells.

Composite supercapacitive materials can combine two different kinds of electrode materials with different energy storage mechanisms, as well as present enhanced supercapacitive performance. In this paper, a reduced graphene oxide aerogel (GA) was prepared with an adjustable pore structure and used as a matrix for loading of secondary active material (MnO2) through an electrochemical deposition method. The influences of the deposition time and deposition voltage on the electrochemical behaviors and specific capacitances of MnO2/GA composites were studied. The unique three-dimensional porous structure of GA can act as a good matrix for MnO2. The results show that when the deposition time is 30 s and deposition voltage is 1.0 V, the MnO2/GA composite has the highest specific capacitance of 664 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g. Compared with neat GA, the specific capacitance of the MnO2/GA composite is enhanced by 190%, which can be assigned to the co-contribution of two kinds of active materials, a facile ion diffusion path through the porous structure, and good electron conductivity of the GA.

A Poly (3, 4-dioxyethylthiophene)–Carbon Nanotubes (PEDOT–CNT) composite electrochromic material, connected by interfacial covalent bonds, was successfully synthesized by electrochemical copolymerization of 3, 4-dioxyethylthiophene with thiophene-2-methylamine functionalized CNT. The molecular and aggregate structures of PEDOT–CNT were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The electrochemical behavior and electrochromic properties of PEDOT–CNT were measured by CV (cyclic voltammetry), UV–Vis (ultraviolet visible spectroscopy) and EIS (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy). The test results show that the electrochromic performance of PEDOT–CNT is better than that of neat PEDOT. As the percentage of carbon nanotubes increases, the contrast and response speed of the composites increase accordingly. The PEDOT film has a contrast under square-wave potential of 0.54, a coloring time of 6.42 s, and a fading time of 2.54 s. Compared with PEDOT, the contrasts of PEDOT–CNT-3%, PEDOT–CNT-5% and PEDOT–CNT-7% are increased by 31%, 33%, and 89%, respectively. The response speeds of PEDOT–CNT-5% increase to coloring time of 3.51 s and fading time of 1.37 s.

A facile hydrothermal strategy is adopted to synthesize the composite of NiCo-layered double hydroxide(NiCo-LDH) with biomass carbon as substrate for supercapacitor electrodes. The prepared NiCo@BC was characterized by means of X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electronic microscopy(SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy, and electrochemical tests. The SEM images demonstrated that numerous NiCo-LDH nanosheets directly grew on the surface of biomass carbon uniformly. Electrochemical tests indicated that the NiCo@BC electrode exhibited good capacitive behavior with a specific capacitance of 606.4 F/g at the current density of 0.5 A/g. In addition, the composite electrode showed excellent cyclic stability of 87.1% even after 1000 cycles. These results manifest that NiCo@BC nanocomposite is a promising candidate for the electrode material for future supercapacitor practical applications.

In this paper, we prove an efficient and facile synthesis method for preparing PtRu nanoparticles (NPs)/graphene nanosheets (GNS) catalysts for methanol electrooxidation. Our approach employed carboxylated-graphene nanosheets (C-GNS) as the support which prepared by the Friedel-Crafts reaction between succinic anhydride and GNS. The reaction conditions are mild without cumbersome pretreatment of GNS. The morphology and component of PtRu NPs/C-GNS catalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and inductively coupled plasma-atom emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), respectively. The TEM observation reveals that PtRu NPs with an average diameter of ca. 4.0 ± 0.5 nm uniformly distributed on the edges and wrinkles of C-GNS. The further electrochemical characterizations including cyclic voltammograms (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA) methods show that PtRu NPs/C-GNS catalysts have significantly higher electrocatalytic activity and stability toward methanol electrooxidation compared to the PtRu catalysts supported on the unmodified GNS. This provides an easy approach to synthesize GNS-based electrode materials for high-performance energy conversion devices in the future.

As electrode materials, metal-organic frameworks always have low electrical conductivity and poor structural stability, which limits its applications in electrochemical fields. Here, Ni-BPDC/GO composites are synthesized using graphene oxide (GO) as a substrate and 4,4′-biphenyldicarboxylic acid (BPDC) as an organic ligand via a hydrothermal approach. The growth mechanism of the Ni-BPDC and Ni-BPDC/GO composites is proposed. In the composites, highly dispersed Ni-BPDC macro-nanostrips are supported on the GO surface in parallel. The presence of GO does not affect the growth and crystalline structure of Ni-BPDC. Compared with the Ni-BPDC, Ni-BPDC/GO composites exhibit higher specific capacitance, rate capability, and operating current density through lowering intrinsic resistance, charge-transfer resistance, and ion diffusion impedance. Moreover, the assembled Ni-BPDC/GO-3//reduced graphene oxide (rGO) asymmetric supercapacitor has large specific capacitance, good cycling stability, and high energy density (16.5 W h/kg at 250 W/kg). Hence, Ni-BPDC/GO composites are a potential electrode material for supercapacitors.

Polyaniline nanotubes (PANI-T) and graphene oxide (GO) have been compounded by a postcomposition method with the assistance of electrostatic adsorption. Using this so-called postcomposition method, both the electric double-layer capacitance of the GO and the pseudocapacitance of the conducting polymer can be utilized. PANI-T prepared by a rapid mixing method was positively charged by pretreatment with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES). PANI/GO composites were obtained by mixing the positively charged PANI-T and negatively charge GO with the assistance of electrostatic attraction. Charge–discharge measurements in 1 mol L−1 H2SO4 aqueous electrolyte revealed that the specific capacitance of PANI-T/GO-10% could reach 1220 F g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1, being much higher than the value of 648 F g−1 for PANI-T. After 500 cycles of charge–discharge testing, the composite retained 97% of its capacitance. These enhanced supercapacitive properties can be attributed to the two types of energy storage mechanism and the electrostatic interaction between GO and PANI-T. Preparation of such PANI-T/GO composite electrode materials by electrostatic adsorption thus provides an efficient approach for improvement of the supercapacitive properties of conducting polymers or metal oxides.

In this paper, water-dispersible and covalently bonded polyaniline-carbon nanostructures, including polyaniline-reduced graphene oxide (PANI-rGO), polyaniline-single-walled carbon nanotubes (PANI-SWCNTs), and polyaniline-reduced graphene oxide/single-walled carbon nanotube (PANI-rGO/SWCNTs) nanocomposites, were synthesized by grafting PANI onto p-phenylenediamine (PPD)-functionalized graphene oxide (GO) or single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) using polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) as a macromolecular dopant agent. The structures and morphologies of the PANI, PANI-rGO, PANI-SWCNTs, and PANI-rGO/SWCNTs nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The cyclic voltammetry and UV–vis spectra were performed on an electrochemical workstation and a UV–vis spectrometer, respectively. The results show that the electrochromic and electrochemical properties of nanocomposites can benefit from the high conductivity of SWCNTs and the abundant active sites of rGO. When SWCNTs and rGO work together, their respective shortcomings are overcome, allowing the nanocomposite to exhibit the best electrochemical and electrochromic properties. The optical contrast increased from 0.38 for PANI to 0.52 for PANI-rGO/SWCNTs. The coloring and bleaching times decreased from 2.59 s and 2.39 s, respectively, for PANI to 1.33 and 0.78 s, respectively, for PANI-rGO/SWCNTs. The charge transfer resistance (Rct) decreased from 135 Ω for PANI to 30 Ω for PANI-rGO/SWCNTs. The synergistic effect of PANI, rGO, and SWCNTs can significantly improve the electrochromic ability of PANI. Electrochromic properties of covalently bonded polyaniline-reduced graphene oxide/single walled carbon nanotubes nanocomposites. A high performance electrochromic material was prepared using polyaniline (PANI) and two different dimensional carbon nanostructures, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as the components. The covalent bond was introduced to interface between PANI and two carbon nanostructures to form a three-dimensional conductive network. Owing to the high electron conduction through directly connected covalent bond and loose molecular chain aggregation brought by two various dimensional carbon nanostructure, PANI-rGO/SWCNTs nanocomposites exhibit superior electrochemical and electrochromic properties (high optical contrast and short switching time) compared with PANI.

In this article, a high specific capacitance biomass carbon/MnO2 nanocomposites electrode materials were prepared by hydrothermal method. The porous sugarcane bagasse based biomass carbon was used as the host to load MnO2 nanospheres. The final obtained nanocomposites exhibit high specific capacitance. Besides, the effects of different electrolytes on the electrochemical properties of sugarcane bagasse carbon (SBC)/MnO2 nanosphere composites (SBC/MnO2) were also investigated. In comparison with MnO2 nanospheres, the specific capacitances of the SBC/MnO2 composite materials are improved whether in alkaline electrolyte or neutral electrolyte. Especially, in 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte, the specific capacitance of SBC/MnO2 composite is up to 747 F·g−1 at a current density of 1 A·g−1, which is much higher than the MnO2 nanospheres at the same current density. At the same time, after 1000 cycles of charge–discharge process in a neutral electrolyte, the specific capacitance retention of SBC/MnO2 composite reaches 77%.

In this article, polyaniline nanofibers (PANI-NF)/manganese dioxide composites (PANI/MnO2) were synthesized through an interfacial polymerization approach. The PANI-NF and MnO2 were obtained by in situ oxidation of aniline by potassium permanganate and in situ reduction of potassium permanganate by aniline, respectively. During the interfacial polymerization, the monomer aniline can only be oxidized to PANI after it diffuses into the water phase. This diffusion-control feeding process of the monomer results in nanofiber structure. The morphologies and crystal structures of the prepared PANI/MnO2 composites were measured by scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. The supercapacitive behaviours of these composites were analysed by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge–discharge (GCD) tests. The CV and GCD tests indicate that the PANI/MnO2 composites possess better electrochemical activity and higher capacitive properties compared to neat PANI nanofibers. The specific capacitance of PANI/MnO2 composites and PANI-NF are 751 F g−1 and 180 F g−1 at 0.2 A g−1 in Na2SO4 solution, respectively. We believe that the enhanced capacitive properties are related to the special nanostructure and strong interaction between PANI and MnO2 that resulted from the interfacial synthesis method.

Using coal-based polyaniline as a carbon and nitrogen source, N-doped porous carbon (NPC)/nickel cobalt oxides (NixCoyOz)/carbon micro–nanotubes (CMNT) composites possessing rich nanoscale meso–macropores, spinel NiCo2O4 sheets and multi-walled CMNT are successfully synthesized by the first pyrolysis and the second wet oxidation process. Therein, CMNT owning a diameter of 10–200 nm and a length of several micrometers is grown by a two-stage furnace process in a hydrogen-free atmosphere, using nickel acetate as a growth catalyst precursor. CMNT exhibits polymorphic features, including most curved tubes, a few vertical tubes, some bamboo-like tubes and some Chinese-sugar-gourd-skewer-like tubes, resulting from the diversity and low hydrogen content of gaseous cracking products from coal-based polyaniline. Carbon in CMNT mainly exists in the graphitic state while carbon in NPC mainly presents in the amorphous state. Nitrogen in CMNT mainly exists in the form of graphitic N while nitrogen in NPC (0.89 wt% in composites) mainly presents in the form of pyrrolic N (74.4 at.%) and oxidized N (25.6 at.%). The intercalated Ni and Co impurity in NPC and CMNT are transformed to most NiCo2O4 and a few NiO. The BET specific surface area and average pore width of composites are 169.3 m2/g and 8.4 nm. CMNT incorporation obviously improves capacitance properties of NPC/NixCoyOz/CMNT composites. The composites demonstrate a higher specific capacitance of 598.4 F/g at 1 A/g, and a good cycling stability retaining a high capacity of 190.1 F/g (81.1% retention) at 5 A/g after 5000 charge–discharge cycles. It is attributed to the nitrogen incorporation of porous carbon, high conductivity and large specific surface area of CMNT, and high electrochemical activity of NixCoyOz, especially, the synergistic effects of NPC, CMNT and NixCoyOz. This study has developed a polygeneration process for coal pyrolysis, which also enables the combined utilization of coal pyrolysis products.

In this article, we reported a biomass carbon/MnO2 nanocomposite electrode material prepared by a hydrothermal method. Sugarcane bagasse and KOH were the carbon source and activation agent, respectively. The obtained sugarcane bagasse carbon is rich in pore structure, so it can act as the host for MnO2. The biomass carbon/MnO2 nanocomposite electrode was prepared by a hydrothermal method. The morphologies of materials were observed by scanning electron microscopy. Raman spectra and x-ray diffraction were utilized to characterize the molecular and crystal structures of samples, respectively. The electrochemical and capacitive performances of materials were tested by electrochemical workstation. By calculation, the specific capacitance of sugarcane bagasse carbon, MnO2 and composite electrode are 280 F g−1, 163 F g−1 and 359 F g−1, respectively. Compared with pure sugarcane bagasse carbon and MnO2, the specific capacitance of the composite increases by 28% and 120%, respectively. After 2000 cycles of charge and discharge, the capacitance retention of the composite is 94%, which is higher than 91% of sugarcane bagasse carbon and 45% of MnO2.

A facile method was developed for preparation of PtRu nanoparticles/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation. Starting from pristine MWCNTs, high dispersion of PtRu nanoparticles was directly assembled on the side wall of MWCNTs by using p-phenylenediamine (PPDA) as the inter-linker. FTIR and Raman spectroscopy examinations show that PPDA can be immobilized on pristine MWCNTs by π-π stacking, and the integral structure of MWCNTs was preserved after modification. TEM and XRD investigations show that the face-centered cubic (fcc) Pt structure of PtRu alloy nanoparticles with average diameter 3.5 ± 0.5 nm are uniformly supported on the surface of PPDA-functionalized MWCNTs (PPDA-MWCNTs). The resulting PtRu/PPDA-MWCNTs catalyst exhibits a more negative onset potential (0.15 V) than PtRu/MWCNTs (0.33 V), showing the higher electrocatalytic activity towards methanol oxidation, while its forward peak current density (731.6 mAmg−1 of Pt) is 1.66 times higher than that of PtRu/MWCNTs (440.5 mAmg−1 of Pt). The PtRu/PPDA-MWCNTs catalyst also shows significantly enhanced steady-state current and long-term stability. The smaller size, better dispersion, and higher electrochemical surface area (73.5 m2 g−1) of the PtRu nanoparticles on PPDA-MWCNTs result in superior electrocatalytic performance towards methanol oxidation. This work may provide an efficient method to fabricate MWCNTs-supported superior noble metal catalysts for broad applications in energy systems and sensing devices.

A novel ferrocene-containing hybrid electrochromic material was synthesized via copolymerization of aniline with p-phenylenediamine functionalized acetyl ferrocene in the presence of poly (styrene sulfonate) dopant in an aqueous medium, and neat polyaniline (PANI) was prepared for comparison. The polymerization characteristics and the structure of the copolymer were systematically studied by Fourier-transform infrared, meanwhile, their electrochromic properties and electrochemical behaviors were tested by UV–vis spectra, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). It was found that the strong covalent bond and large conjugated system between PANI and ferrocene enhance the electron transfer rate and electron delocalization in the ferrocene-polyaniline (Fc-PANI) hybrid. In particular, the electrochromic device with Fc-PANI as the active layer shows significant enhancement in optical contrast over the PANI-based device.

In this study, we fabricated hexagonal YFeO3 films on Si(100) and Si(111) substrates by a sol-gel method, and investigated the effect of substrate orientation on the structural, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of the YFeO3 films. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction reveals that the YFeO3 films on Si(100) and Si(111) have slight preferred-orientation in (110) and (004) direction, respectively. Both films possess granular microstructure with good crystallization, as well as low surface roughness. The (004)-oriented film has higher density than the (110)-oriented film, resulting in lower leakage current. The two films show weak ferroelectric properties and different domain structures. Local amplitude and phase response loops manifest that the film on Si(111) possesses larger phase change and coercive field. While influenced by polarization rotation towards the applied field direction, larger effective piezoelectric coefficient d33 of 67 pm/V has been found in the film on Si(100). These findings suggest that preferred orientation can account for the physical properties of multiferroic YFeO3 films.

The molecular architecture of conducting polymers has a significant impact on their conjugated structure and electrochemical properties. We have investigated the influence of star-shaped structure on the electrochemical and electrochromic properties of polyaniline (PANI). Star-shaped PANI (SPANI) was prepared by copolymerization of aniline with triphenylamine (TPA) using an emulsion polymerization method. With addition of less than 4.0 mol.% TPA, the resulting SPANI exhibited good solubility in xylene with dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (DBSA) as doping acid. The structure and thermal stability of the SPANI were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis, and the electrochemical behavior was analyzed by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The electrochromic properties of SPANI were tested using an electrochemical workstation combined with an ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectrometer. The results show that, with increasing TPA loading, the thermal stability of SPANI increased. With addition of 4.0 mol.% TPA, the weight loss of SPANI was 36.9% at 700°C, much lower than the value of 71.2% for PANI at the same temperature. The low oxidation potential and large enclosed area of the CV curves indicate that SPANI possesses higher electrochemical activity than PANI. Enhanced electrochromic properties including higher optical contrast and better electrochromic stability of SPANI were also obtained. SPANI with 1.6 mol.% TPA loading exhibited the highest optical contrast of 0.71, higher than the values of 0.58 for PANI, 0.66 for SPANI-0.4%, or 0.63 for SPANI-4.0%. Overdosing of TPA resulted in slow switching speed due to slow ion transport in short branched chains of star-shaped PANI electrochromic material. Long-term stability testing confirmed that all the SPANI-based devices exhibited better stability than the PANI-based device.

In this paper, we demonstrate a simple approach to improve the electrochromic performances of polyaniline (PANI) by incorporating PANI nanofibers (PANI-NFs) synthesized by interfacial polymerization into water-soluble PANI:poly(styrene sulfonate) (PANI:PSS). The one-dimensional PANI-NFs endow spin-coated PANI film high electrochemical activities and electrochromic properties. The structures and morphologies of PANI-NFs were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and SEM observation. The electrochemical behaviors of PANI/PANI-NFs composites were analyzed by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrochromic properties of composites were tested using electrochemical working station combining a UV-Vis spectrometer. The results show that the PANI-NFs with even diameter of ~ 30 nm can be synthesized easily using interfacial polymerization method. With the increasing of feeding amount of PANI-NFs, the oxidation peaks of CV curves shift to low potential direction, indicating enhanced electrochemical activities. The electrochromic test confirms that the PANI/PANI-NFs composites films have higher electrochromic contrast of 0.67 as comparison to 0.49 of PANI:PSS film. The PANI/PANI-NFs also exhibit excellent electrochromic stability. After 2000 cycles switching, only less than 4% contrast decay is observed. The enhanced electrochromic properties can be attributed to the small charge-transfer resistance and facile ion diffusion process brought by PANI-NFs. The EIS tests exhibit that with incorporating of highly conductive PANI-NFs, the PANI/PANI-NFs composites possess relatively lower charge-transfer resistance of 76 Ω as comparison to 94 Ω of neat PANI:PSS.

In this paper, the covalently bonded polyaniline (PANI) nanofiber/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) composites were synthesized via interfacial polymerization of aniline with para-phenylenediamine functionalized MWCNT at the interface of oil/water system. Owing to the diffusion-controlled growth process of PANI, PANI with uniform fiber structure were obtained. The morphology analysis showed that the diameter of PANI nanofiber decreased with the increasing of MWCNT loading amount. Impedance analysis showed that the charge-transfer resistances of the composites were reduced also with the increasing of MWCNT loading amount. The decreasing of charge-transfer resistances and change of morphology resulted in enhanced capacitive properties. Electrochemical tests showed that the specific capacitance of PANI, PANI/MWCNT-10% and PANI/MWCNT-20% were 405, 641 and 764 F·g-1, respectively. As comparison with pure PANI nanofiber, the specific capacitance of the composites increased by 58% and 88.6%, respectively.

This paper demonstrates a simple and effective approach to fabricate highly crystalline poly(2,5-dimethoxyaniline) (PDMA) nanoplates using various organic sulfonic acids including Dodecyl benzenesulfonic acid (DBSA), Camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) and p-Toluenesulfonic Acid (p-TSA) as the dopant agents. The structures and morphologies of PDMA nanoplates were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, Raman spectrometer, X-ray diffraction, Atom force microscope and Electron microscope. The results show that the PDMA nanoplates possess high crystallinity and layered nanoplate aggregation structure. The estimated degree of crystallinity is higher than 95 %. With different organic sulfonic acids used, the aggregation structures of PDMA nanoplates vary from triclinic hexahedron to cuboid and rod shape. Through adjusting the dopant agent/monomer molar ratio, the yield of PDMA nanoplates can be as high as 53 %.

A unique ionic liquid polymer (ILP)-assisted method is developed for preparation of PdPt nanoparticles (NPs) on carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Due to its intrinsic hydrophilicity and regularly arranged imidazolium cationic functional groups, ILP induces the growth of uniform PdPt NPs with an average size of 3.5 ± 0.5 nm on CNTs. The cyclic voltammetry and amperometric studies indicated that the resulting PdPt NP/ILP–CNT nanohybrids have larger electrochemical surface area, better electrocatalytic performance, and higher stability towards the formic acid oxidation compared to NPs supported on the pristine CNTs. The excellent electrocatalytic performance is mainly contributed to the smaller particle size and more uniform dispersion of PdPt NPs. These results imply that PdPt NP/ILP–CNT nanohybrids are promising electrocatalytic material for formic acid oxidation. This work may also explore a universal approach to fabricate superior framework of metal nanocrystalline on CNTs for broad applications in energy systems and sensing devices.

High conductivity, good stability, and high transmittance in the visible region are the three essential requirements for the polymer electrodes used in the optoelectronic devices. It was found that with addition of diols, such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), to the poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) emulsion before spin-coating could increase dramatically the conductivities of the resultant PEDOT:PSS thin films from 1 to 90 S cm−1 while maintain the optical transparency of the modified thin films. With up to −2.4 V potential applied, the PEDOT:PSS with PEG 200 additive does not show obvious color change, indicating its good electrochemical stability as polymer electrode. Detailed studies on the structures and morphologies of these modified PEDOT:PSS thin films, in comparison to that of PEDOT:PSS without additives were carried out using AFM, Raman, and FTIR to investigate the underlying mechanisms.