Abstract:
The substantial inflation in energy consumption has leaded the research activities in
development of renewable energy fuel cell. DMFC is an extraordinarily promising
energy source because of its easy handling and fuel processing. Direct methanol fuel
cells convert chemical energy into electrical energy through methanol
oxidation. Research in the preparation of non noble metal based catalyst for methanol
oxidation has been accelerated. During the last decade the electro oxidation of
methanol at MOF and their composites with rGO has attracted appreciable attention in
DMFC. Here we report the electrochemical activity of Ni-MOF and its composites
with rGO for methanol oxidation. The prepared Ni based MOFs and their composites
with rGO were synthesized via hydrothermal method. The prepared catalytic material
was characterized through scanning electron microscopy, electron dispersive
spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and FTIR for testing their structural and
morphological changes. The electro catalytic activity and stability of prepared catalyst
was investigated for methanol oxidation through cyclic voltammetry, electron
impedance spectroscopy and chronoamperometry in an alkaline medium. The
electrochemical parameters were calculated by glassy carbon electrode modified with
Ni MOF and their composites and illustrate the effect of rGO on the oxidation of
methanol. Among all the composites 5wt% rGO/ Ni MOF illustrate an excellent peak
current density 275.85mA/cm2 at lower scan rate 50mV/s and stability up to 60%. The
increased electrochemical activity and considerable stability is associated with the
combined effect of rGO with MOFs for methanol oxidation.
