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Preparation of Ni/NiO-C catalyst with NiO crystal: catalytic performance and mechanism for ethanol oxidation in alkaline solution

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Abstract

Highly active and durable catalysts are imperative for the development of alcohol oxidation research. Herein, a Ni/NiO-C catalyst with hollow NiO crystal can be used in ethanol oxidation. The hollow NiO nanoparticles are absolutely coated in the amorphous carbon and the generated NiO crystal remarkably raises the electrocatalytic performances of catalysts. Among all samples, the Ni/NiO-C3 catalyst shows the highest current density in 0.5 M ethanol solution. This is mainly derived from the synergistic effect of the crystallographic form, carbon coating, and hollow structure. Besides, the reaction mechanism of Ni/NiO-C3 electrode is controlled by charge transfer in high-concentration ethanol. With the concentration of ethanol decreased, a diffusion control mechanism is observed on Ni/NiO-C3 electrode. The attenuation rate of current density is only 0.1% after 3600 s by chronoamperometry in 0.1 M ethanol aqueous solution, indicating that the Ni/NiO-C3 electrode has a superior stability. Moreover, Ni/NiO-C3 electrode exhibits an rapid current response in 0.1 mM ethanol solution and a linear relationship between 0.69 and 40.17 mM, which provides a new idea for the research of fuel cell type ethanol sensor.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Natural Science Foundations of Tianjin (No:.14JCYBJC17500, 15JCQNJC05700, and 17JCQNJC06100) and the Natural Science Foundations of China (No. 21271138 and 21703152).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Material Science and Engineering, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin, 300387, China

    Hui Wang, Juan Li, Haiyan Gao, Yongnan Zhao & Young-Uk Kwon

  2. School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Fiber, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin, 300387, China

    Yuechao Cao & Jianguo Yu

  3. The State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130023, China

    Guodong Li

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  1. Hui Wang
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Correspondence to Jianguo Yu.

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Wang, H., Cao, Y., Li, J. et al. Preparation of Ni/NiO-C catalyst with NiO crystal: catalytic performance and mechanism for ethanol oxidation in alkaline solution. Ionics 24, 2745–2752 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-017-2414-1

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