Understanding the growth of NiSe nanoparticles on reduced graphene oxide as efficient electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation reaction

Abstract

With the development of direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) becomes the crux of the application of DMFC, and the preparation of cheap, efficient MOR electrocatalyst is still the focus of researchers. Hence, we have prepared NiSe/RGO nanoparticles by a simple and universal way using pyrolyzation and selenylation. The MOR of NiSe/RGO is tested in 0.5 M MeOH/1 M KOH solution. Compared with the precursor Ni, NiSe/RGO-550 has outstanding performance for MOR with onset potential is 1.35 V vs. RHE, and 59.84 mA cm−2 for peak current density, and it can stable catalytic oxidation of methanol more than 4000 s. Because of the augment of active sites after selenization and the load of RGO enhanced electroconductibility, NiSe/RGO-550 has remarkable performance for MOR. This work provides the possibility of high performance, low cost catalysts for energy storage, conversion and practical applications.