Synergistic influence of mesoporous spinel nickel ferrite on the electrocatalytic activity of nano-structured palladium

Fariba Kaedi; Zahra Yavari; Ahmad Reza Abbasian; Milad Asmaei; Kagan Kerman; Meissam Noroozifar

doi:10.1039/d0ra10944d

Synergistic influence of mesoporous spinel nickel ferrite on the electrocatalytic activity of nano-structured palladium

RSC Adv. 2021 Mar 23;11(20):11813-11820. doi: 10.1039/d0ra10944d.

Authors

Fariba Kaedi¹, Zahra Yavari^{1

2}, Ahmad Reza Abbasian³, Milad Asmaei³, Kagan Kerman⁴, Meissam Noroozifar⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of Sistan and Baluchestan Zahedan P.O. Box 98135-674 Iran +98-54-3341-6888 +98-54-3341-6464 z_yavari@chem.usb.ac.ir zahrayavari5@gmail.com.
² Renewable Energies Research Institute, University of Sistan and Baluchestan Zahedan Iran.
³ Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sistan and Baluchestan Zahedan Iran.
⁴ Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough 1265 Military Trail Toronto Ontario M1C 1A4 Canada.

Abstract

Structure and surface area are critical factors for catalysts in fuel cells. Hence, a spinel nickel ferrite mesoporous (SNFM) is prepared via the solution combustion technique, an efficient and one-step synthesis. Dynamic X-ray analysis has clarified the structural properties of SNFM. The grain size of SNFM is determined to be ∼11.6 nm. The specific surface area (87.69 m². g^-1) of SNFM is obtained via the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method. The Barrett-Joyner-Halenda pore size distributions revealed that the size of the mesopores in as-synthesized SNFM mainly falls in the size range of 2-16 nm. Scanning electron microscopy studies showed the regularities involved during porous-structure formation. SNFM is employed as the support for nano-structured palladium (PdNS). Field emission scanning electron microscope studies of PdNS-SNFM showed the deposition of PdNS in cavities and on/in the pores of SNFM. The electrochemical surface area obtained for PdNS-SNFM is about 27 times larger than that of PdNS via cyclic voltammetry. The electrochemical studies are utilized to study the features and catalytic performance of PdNS-SNFM in the electro-oxidation of diverse small organic fuels, whereas the electrooxidation of diethylene glycol is reported for first-time.