Citrate-Capped Hybrid Au-TiO2 Nanomaterial for Facile and Enhanced Electrochemical Hydrazine Oxidation

ACS Omega. 2017 Mar 29;2(3):1215-1221. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.6b00566. eCollection 2017 Mar 31.

Abstract

Effective and facile electrochemical oxidation of chemical fuels is pivotal for fuel cell applications. Herein, we report the electrocatalytic oxidation of hydrazine on a citrate-capped Au-TiO2-modified glassy carbon electrode, which follows two different oxidation paths. These two pathways of hydrazine oxidation are ascribed to occur on Au and the activated TiO2 surface of the Au-TiO2 hybrid electrocatalyst. This activation was achieved through molecular capping of the Au-TiO2 surface by citrate, which leads to favorable hydrazine oxidation with a lower Tafel slope compared to that of the clean surface of the respective materials, that is, Au and TiO2.