PdO Reinforced CuO/Al2O3 Mesoporous Nanostructures as High‐Efficiency Electrocatalysts for Hydrazine Oxidation Reaction (HzOR)

Abstract

AbstractDirect hydrazine fuel cells (DHFC) insist on the evolved and persistent electrocatalysts for anodic hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR). Herein, PdO promoted CuO heterostructures supported on γ‐Al2O3 are depicted as efficient electrocatalysts for HzOR. γ‐Al2O3 is prepared by precipitation method while metal precursors are incorporated by co‐impregnation technique. Physiochemically characterized PdO‐CuO/Al2O3 mesoporous composites displayed large electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) i. e., 0.18 cm2, high current density (j) i. e., 35.7 mA cm−2, larger diffusion coefficient (D°) i. e., 29.3×10−4 (cm2s−1), large apparent rate constant (kapp) i. e., 13.2 cm−1 with low charge transfer resistance (Rct) i. e., 3.6 kΩ shown by the best catalyst i. e., 1 % PdO‐CuO/Al2O3. Cyclic voltammetry indicated that the fabricated working electrodes offer high efficiency towards HzOR in alkaline medium in such a way that 1 % PdO‐CuO/Al2O3 produced 600 times higher oxidation current than CuO/Al2O3 composite. Owing to stability and reproducibility, PdO modified CuO/Al2O3 would achieve a huge catalytic significance in multiple electrochemical oxidation reactions with economic and ecological benefits.