Methanol electrooxidation reaction in alkaline medium on glassy carbon electrode modified with ordered mesoporous Ni/Al2O3

Abstract

In this work, ordered mesoporous Ni/Al2O3 catalysts were prepared by the solvent evaporation induced self-assembly (EISA) method. The synthesized Ni/Al2O3 catalysts were characterized by XRD, elemental distribution analyses, N2 adsorption and TEM. Ni/Al2O3 modified glassy carbon electrode was used to investigate the electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol in 0.1 M NaOH solution by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). CVs results showed good electrocatalytic activity of Ni/Al2O3 for methanol electrooxidation in alkaline electrolytes. The good methanol electrooxidation activity of Ni/Al2O3 could be attributed to its synergetic effects between high dispersion of nickel and the ordered mesoporous structure that facilitates the diffusion of methanol and products. The CV and CA results suggest methanol electrooxidation is an irreversible process and a diffusion controlled process. The rate constant for the catalytic reaction of methanol is calculated to be 1.66× 106 cm3 mol-1 s-1.