Exploring a cost-effective alternative to noble metals for electrocatalytic oxidation and ethanol detection in alkaline media

IF 2.6 4区化学 Q3 CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL

Ionics Pub Date : 2025-07-10 DOI:10.1007/s11581-025-06518-4

B. Reyoun Frances, B. G. Jeyaprakash

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Abstract

The electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol in an alkaline medium was systematically investigated using both commercial electrodes (GCE, ITO, Pt, Gr, and SPE) and CuO based modified electrodes (CuO/ITO, Ag/CuO/ITO, and rGO/CuO/ITO). The CuO films were deposited onto ITO substrates via spray pyrolysis, while Ag and rGO were introduced through thermal evaporation and the doctor blade method, respectively. Structural characterization confirmed the polycrystalline nature and high elemental purity of the synthesized CuO based materials. Electrochemical studies were conducted in 0.5 M NaOH with varying ethanol concentrations, using cyclic voltammetry (CV) to evaluate catalytic behavior with a potential window of -0.1 to 0.2 V. The CuO based electrodes, especially those functionalized with Ag and rGO, demonstrated significantly enhanced electrocatalytic activity compared to their commercial electrodes. These modified electrodes exhibited lower oxidation potentials, improved sensitivity, and reduced saturation effects at higher ethanol concentrations (oxidation peak at -0.2 – 2.0 V). The enhancements are attributed to increased active sites and the synergistic interaction between CuO and the functional materials. Among the tested electrodes, Ag/CuO and rGO/CuO showed the most promising performance, offering stable, sensitive, and cost-effective alternatives to traditional Pt-based catalysts for ethanol sensing applications.

Graphical Abstract

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探索在碱性介质中电催化氧化和乙醇检测中具有成本效益的贵金属替代品

系统地研究了乙醇在碱性介质中的电催化氧化，使用了商用电极（GCE、ITO、Pt、Gr和SPE）和CuO基修饰电极（CuO/ITO、Ag/CuO/ITO和rGO/CuO/ITO）。采用喷雾热解法将CuO膜沉积在ITO基体上，采用热蒸发法和博士叶片法分别引入Ag和rGO。结构表征证实了合成的CuO基材料的多晶性和高元素纯度。电化学研究在0.5 M NaOH和不同乙醇浓度下进行，使用循环伏安法（CV）在-0.1至0.2 V的电位窗口内评估催化行为。CuO基电极，特别是那些与Ag和rGO功能化的电极，与它们的商业电极相比，显示出显著增强的电催化活性。这些修饰电极表现出较低的氧化电位，提高了灵敏度，并且在较高乙醇浓度下降低了饱和效应（氧化峰在-0.2 - 2.0 V）。这种增强归因于活性位点的增加以及CuO与功能材料之间的协同相互作用。在测试的电极中，Ag/CuO和rGO/CuO表现出最具前景的性能，为乙醇传感应用提供了稳定、敏感和经济的替代传统pt基催化剂。图形抽象

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来源期刊

Ionics 化学-电化学

CiteScore

5.30

自引率

7.10%

发文量

427

审稿时长

2.2 months

期刊介绍： Ionics is publishing original results in the fields of science and technology of ionic motion. This includes theoretical, experimental and practical work on electrolytes, electrode, ionic/electronic interfaces, ionic transport aspects of corrosion, galvanic cells, e.g. for thermodynamic and kinetic studies, batteries, fuel cells, sensors and electrochromics. Fast solid ionic conductors are presently providing new opportunities in view of several advantages, in addition to conventional liquid electrolytes.