CeO2-NiO-rGO as a nano-electrocatalyst for methanol electro-oxidation

Abstract

Abstract This study provides the methanol oxidation capability of two nanocatalysts, CeO2-NiO (CN) and CeO2-NiO-rGO (CNR), synthesized by a cost-effective hydrothermal method. The synergistic effect of compositing CeO2-NiO with reduced graphene oxide was evaluated. These synergic effect makes a good electrochemical active surface area and suitable electrical conductivity for catalyst. In addition, rGO with good electrical conductivity revealed considerable improvement in the methanol oxidation reaction performance of the catalyst. The cyclic stability measurements of CeO2-NiO-rGO showed a high retention ability of 96% in 500 consecutive cyclic voltammetry cycles, while the stability of CeO2-NiO in the same number of cycles is about 93%. The complementary methanol oxidation process results indicated an oxidation current density up to 49.5 and 68.5 mA cm−2 for CN and CNR at a scan rate of 20 mV s−1, respectively. The proposed catalyst can be considered as an attractive, stable, and inexpensive candidate in the field of methanol oxidation to use in methanol fuel cells.