Electrochemical Alcohol Oxidation and Biological Properties of Mn3O4-Co3O4-rGO

Abstract

A multi-component nanocomposite consisting of manganese oxide (Mn3O4), cobalt oxide (Co3O4), and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) in the form of Mn3O4-Co3O4-rGO was synthesized by the hydrothermal method. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) analyses were performed to investigate the synergistic effect of metal oxides on the surface of rGO nano-sheets in the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) process. The good electrochemical results show that Mn3O4-Co3O4-rGO can be a promising, inexpensive nano-catalyst for application in alcohol fuel cells. In addition, as nanoparticles inhibit cancer cell growth by producing reactive oxygen species (ROS), we explored the synergic effect of the three-component synthetic nanomaterial in gastric cancer cells (AGS). Results indicated that Mn3O4-Co3O4-rGO inhibited AGS cell growth by induction of ROS, upregulation of Mir-20a-5p, and downregulation of ZBTB4 gene. This might provide a novel molecular-targeted strategy of microRNA-based therapeutics for gastric cancer treatment.