A Comparative Investigation of Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Some Important Alcohols onto the Surface of Carbon Paste Electrode Modified by Electro-Spun Nickel Oxide Nanofibers

In this research, nickel acetate/polyvinyl alcohol (Ni(OAc)2/PVA) nanofibers were prepared by the electrospinning method. In the following, nickel oxide nanofibers (NiO NFs) were obtained by appropriate heat treatment. The surface morphology and diameter of the synthesized nanofibers were investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results showed that long fiberswith an average diameter of around 90 nm were obtained for NiO NFs. By using Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), the appropriate temperature for calcination was obtained at about 600 °C. The Fourier Transform-InfraRed (FT-IR) spectroscopy showed that all the organic constituents of the electro-spun NFs were removed after calcination. For the investigation of the crystallinity of the nickel oxide NFs, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) was used. The crystalline phase of the NiO NFs was determined as cubic. The surface area of the NiO NFs was estimated at about 4.2 m2 g-1 using adsorption-desorption isotherms (BET). The electrochemical behavior of NiO NFs modified Carbon Paste Electrode (CPE) was studied by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and chronoamperometry methods. The electrocatalytic activity of the modified electrodes was studied towards oxidation of ethylene glycol (EG), ethanol and methanol in alkaline medium and the obtained results showed that the catalytic current density for the NiO NFs/CPE towards EG oxidation is more than other alcohols.