A One-Pot Method to Prepare Rice-Shaped TiO2 /C/Ni Composite Catalyst for Methanol Oxidation Reaction

Abstract

TiO2/C/Ni composite is synthesized by carbonizing Ti-EG-Ni polymer under reductive atmosphere. The as-prepared materials were characterized using XRD, SEM, EDS, HRTEM, and Raman IR. The electrocatalytic activity of methanol oxidation reaction was carried out in an alkaline medium. The as-synthesised TiO2/C/Ni-500 composite possesses a unique rice-shaped structure with a homogenous dispersion of Ni and TiO2 nanoparticles in the carbon matrix. This composite exhibits superior electro-catalytic performance for methanol oxidation (at 45 mA cm-2) with excellent stability and a very low onset potential (0.35 V) in alkaline solution. The enhanced electrochemical activity and stability can be attributed to the synergetic effect in the TiO2/C/Ni composite. This work opens a new technique to develop non-noble metal catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells.