Preparation, physicochemical, and electrochemical properties of magnetite electrodes for methanol electrocatalytic oxidation in an alkaline medium

Abstract

Iron oxide nanoparticles are novel functional materials applicable in catalysis. Herein, the proposed method involved synthesis of electrocatalyst iron oxide nanoparticles and their application in oxidation process of methanol. The iron oxide nanoparticles prepared using co-precipitation chemical method, in which ferric and ferrous ions were mixed in a 1:2 M ratio in highly basic solutions. The electrocatalyst Fe₃O₄ further applied for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) in 0.5 M KOH solution at room temperature. MOR was performed on cyclic voltammeter (CV) also measured polarization of process. The methanol oxidation on cyclic voltammetry expressed forward and backward oxidation peak with function of currents at 0.7 and 0.5 V. The prepared Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles showed significant magnetic property measured by a vibration magnetometer at 300 K. Also, the structure and surface morphology of the catalyst were characterized using X-ray diffraction and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM)–energy dispersive spectroscopy, respectively. ESEM was used to determine Fe₃O₄ particle size and a high degree of nanoparticle dispersion in oxidation system.

Keywords:

• Electrochemical oxidation
• Methanol
• Magnetite electrocatalyst
• Cyclic voltammetry

Acknowledgment

The authors thank the National Science Council of the Republic of China, Taiwan, for financially supporting this research under contract numbers MOST 103-2221-E-022-001-MY3 and MOST 103-2811-E-022-002.

Notes

Presented at the 8th International Conference on Challenges in Environmental Science & Engineering (CESE-2015) 28 September–2 October 2015, Sydney, Australia