Nano-engineered ZnO/CeO2 dots@CNFs for fuel cell application

Arabian Journal of Chemistry

Zafar Khan Ghouri¹  Hak Yong Kim¹  Nasser A.M. Barakat²  Mira Park²  Khalil Abdelrazek Khalil³  Salem S. Al-Deyab⁴  Mohamed H. El-Newehy⁴ 

[1] Department of BIN Fusion Technology, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Republic of Korea;Department of Organic Material & Fiber Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Republic of Korea;Mechanical Engineering Department, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia;Petrochemical Research Chair, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia;

关键词: Carbon nanofibers;    Nanodots;    Electrospinning;    Direct methanol fuel cells;    Negative onset potential;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.arabjc.2015.05.024

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Well-dispersed ZnO(x)CeO2(1−x) nanodots@carbon nanofibers as anode catalysts for the electrooxidation of methanol were synthesized by an easy-controlled template-free method. Their structure and morphology were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) equipped with rapid EDX (energy dispersive analysis of X-ray). The appealed characterization techniques specified that the obtained material is carbon nanofibers decorated by ZnO and CeO2 nanodots. The electrochemical oxidation of methanol on ZnO(x)CeO2(1−x) nanodots@CNFs modified glassy carbon electrode in alkaline solutions was systematically evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) method. A detailed investigation is made for the electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol by varying methanol concentration. The corresponding current densities of ZnO(60%)CeO2(40%) nanodots@CNFs and ZnO(40%)CeO2(60%) nanodots@CNFs were 5.3 and 16.3 mA/cm2, respectively. Moreover, negative onset potential (−50 mV vs. Ag/AgCl) was observed when ZnO(40%)CeO2(60%) nanodots@CNFs were utilized, which is a superior value among the reported non-precious electrocatalysts. These results suggested cheap and effective nanomaterials as non-precious catalyst for DMFCs application and pave the way to further improve the performance in energy and environmental applications.

【 授权许可】

Unknown