Application of Ni(II)-alumina composites for electrocatalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Tatjana Novakovic,Zorica Mojovic,Nadica Abazovic,Mirjana Comor,Tatjana Savic

doi:10.2298/sos2003359n

Abstract

Nickel-alumina composites with various content of nickel were synthetized by sol-gel method. The characterization of samples was performed by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy using the Mott-Schottky analysis. Glassy carbon electrode modified by synthesized composites was investigated for reduction of 4-nitrophenol. Modification of glassy carbon electrode with composite sample led to the strong apparent electrocatalysis. Principal component analysis was used to establish correlation between structural, textural and electrochemical data of investigated composites.

Highlights

The modification of the electrode surface by carbon based materials [1], noble metals [2], oxides [3] or polymers [4] was extensively investigated in order to achieve enhanced electrode activity
Nickel-alumina composites were synthetized by sol-gel method and calcined at 500, 900 and 1100 oC
The characterization of samples has confirmed that the phase composition of Ni- alumina samples were dependent on the amount of Ni added and the annealing temperature

Summary

Introduction

The modification of the electrode surface by carbon based materials [1], noble metals [2], oxides [3] or polymers [4] was extensively investigated in order to achieve enhanced electrode activity. Modification with inorganic porous materials such as zeolites [5], clays minerals [6, 7] and alumina [8] gain much interest since these materials can act as catalyst support, preconcentration agent or catalyst of the reactions at the electrode surface. Such materials consist of a variety of nanoarchitectures with cavities, pores, channels, etc., from microporous to mesoporous. The effect of the alumina was attributed to the stabilization of the intermediate species through adsorption on alumina or to the enhancement of a proton transfer step by alumina

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