N2H4 electrooxidation at negative potential on novel wearable nano-Ni-MWNTs-textile electrode

Abstract

Abstract A new composite Ni electrode is simply prepared by electrodeposition of nano-scaled Ni particles onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)-enabled conductive textile fiber (cosmetic cotton) which owns an especial three-dimensional (3D) network structure. The morphology and phase structure of the Ni-MWNTs-textile electrode are characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and X-ray diffraction spectrometer, and the catalytic performance for the N 2 H 4 electrooxidation is tested by linear sweep voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The results show that the Ni-MWNTs-textile electrode exhibits a remarkably high catalytic activity and good stability for N 2 H 4 electrooxidation. The onset potential stays at around −0.9 V and the oxidation current density reaches as high as 12 mA cm −2 in the solution containing 1 mol dm −3 NaOH and 20 mmol dm −3 N 2 H 4 at around −0.80 V, both of which outstrip the previous reports.