Copper nanoparticles: Substituted catalysts of expensive platinum for methanol oxidation

Abstract

This work presents copper nanoparticles as substituted electrocatalysts for oxidation of methanol. Copper nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by a simple electrochemical method and then were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. The electrocatalytic properties of the methanol oxidation at this material on the kryptol substrate was investigated at room temperature using cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and current density-time experiment. The results revealed that copper catalysts presented attractively electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). Owing to lower production costs of copper, the reported nanostructured copper catalyst is a promising electrode material for direct methanol fuel cells.