GRAPHENE SUPPORTED METAL NANOPARTICLES AS ANODE MATERIAL FOR DIRECT METHANOL FUEL CELL Krishnadas Narayanan Nampoothiri and N. Sandhyarani Nanoscience Research Laboratory, School of Nano Science and Technology, NIT Calicut Different combinations of nanoparticles are deposited on the graphite disc either by drop casting or electrodeposition. We have used CNT / Graphene as a matrix for the deposition of Pt , Pd , Pt/Pd nanoparticles by taking advantage of their large effective surface area and good conducting property. Different combinations were tried such as CNT-Pt, CNT-Pd, CNT-Pd/Pt, Graphene-Pt, Graphene-Pd, Graphene-Pd/Pt by different deposition methods and the optimized one is chosen for detailed study. Characterisation of the anode materials was done by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis which confirmed the presence of Pt,Pd and Graphene. Methanol oxidation was monitored by cyclic voltammetry and the optimized combination is chosen by comparing the Voltage- Current density (V-J) graphs. A higher current density was obtained when Pt/Pd alloy nanoparticles were used with graphene compared to all other anode materials investigated I. INTRODUCTION Fuel Cell is an electrochemical device that is used to convert an open source fuel into electricity. Fuel cells are different from batteries in that they require a constant source of fuel and oxygen to run, but they can produce electricity continually for as long as these inputs are supplied For any type of fuel cell, there are mainly three segments. 1. Anode 2. Cathode 3. Electrolyte The type of electrolyte used is what defines the type of fuel cell used. Whatever may be the type of fuel cell, their basic operation is always the same Direct Methanol Fuel Cell(DMFC) is a subset of Proton Exchange Membrane(PEM).It is a special form of low temperature fuel cell working with PEM technology. In DMFC, methanol is used as the fuel. It is directly fed into the fuel cell without any reforming step from alcohol to hydrogen. Methanol is the favoured one. It is easily obtained from biomass resources or from natural gas. It has high specific energy density, is liquid at operating temperatures and most of all the existing infrastructure for transporting petrol is easily transformed to support methanol. It is one of the few alcohols that can be fed directly into the fuel cell and can be converted electrochemically at anode. The ease of transport of methanol and its properties like energy-dense yet reasonably stable liquid at all environmental conditions make it a good fuel as a feed to fuel cell. Efficiency is presently quite low for these cells, so they are targeted especially to portable applications, where energy and power density are more important than efficiency[1] Here oxidation of methanol takes place at anode. The protons move towards cathode through the electrolyte. Oxidation reduction takes place at the cathode. II. EXPERIMENTAL METHADOLOGY Carbon Nanotubes, Potassium Hydroxide, Methanol, Palladium Chloride, Hydrochloric Acid, Cobalt Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Acetone, Sodium Chloride, Disodium Hydrogen Phosphate, Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate, Chloroplatinic Acid, Sulphuric Acid, Formic Acid. Graphite Rod-1.27cm * 61cm DEPOSITION METHODS:- Graphite discs of dia 1.27cm is being cut from graphite rod of length 61cm.These discs are used as anode electrodes. Inorder to deposit the catalysts such as platinum, palladium and to deposit supporting catalysts such as cnt and grapheme different methods are applied.