Issue 24, 2017

MnFe2O4@nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide nanohybrid: an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for anodic hydrazine oxidation and cathodic oxygen reduction

Abstract

The direct hydrazine fuel cell (DHFC) emerges as a promising tool to produce electricity without any carbon emission. The electrocatalyst plays a role central to the performance of the DHFC. Thus, development of cost-effective bifunctional electrocatalysts remains a key to make this technology practically viable. Herein, we report a single-step hydrothermal synthesis route to couple MnFe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) with nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (h-MnFe2O4 NPs/N-rGO) and demonstrate its bifunctional role as an electrocatalyst for both anodic hydrazine electrooxidation and cathodic reduction of molecular oxygen. The as-synthesized h-MnFe2O4 NPs/N-rGO composite not only catalyzes hydrazine electrooxidation via a quasi-4-electron pathway (n = 3.94) with a small Tafel slope (106 mV decade−1) but is also capable of reducing molecular oxygen through an efficient 4-electron pathway. The oxygen reduction performance of the present composite is found to be comparable to that of the state-of-the-art Pt/C catalyst. In addition, the bifunctional electrocatalytic behavior of the h-MnFe2O4 NPs/N-rGO composite is found to be superior to those of MnFe2O4 NPs/rGO, pristine MnFe2O4 NPs, N-rGO alone, and the physical mixture of MnFe2O4 NPs and N-rGO. The improved electrocatalytic efficiency of the h-MnFe2O4 NPs/N-rGO composite originates from the synergetic physicochemical properties of MnFe2O4 NPs and N-rGO, which facilitates analyte diffusion, reduces charge transfer resistance, and offers a greater number of active sites for the catalytic reactions.

Graphical abstract: MnFe2O4@nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide nanohybrid: an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for anodic hydrazine oxidation and cathodic oxygen reduction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
07 Sep 2017
Accepted
27 Oct 2017
First published
27 Oct 2017

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2017,7, 5920-5931

MnFe2O4@nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide nanohybrid: an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for anodic hydrazine oxidation and cathodic oxygen reduction

S. Khilari and D. Pradhan, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2017, 7, 5920 DOI: 10.1039/C7CY01844D

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