Title: Microwave synthesis of GO/ZnCo2O4 an efficient electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation reaction

Biography:

Dr. Sreekanth received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from S.V. University, India, in 2009, under the supervision of Prof. K.S. Reddy, after he joined an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry Dongguk University, Gyeongju, South Korea, later he moved to College of Mechanical Engineering, Yeungnam University, South Korea. His research interests include the synthesis of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles and their photocatalytic applications. His recent research activities focus on electrochemical energy storage.

Abstract

In the present study, we reported on the electrocatalytic activities for methanol oxidation of ZCO and GO/ZCO nanocatalysts. Cubic-shaped ZnCo2O4 was synthesized by microwave irradiation method at different reaction times for 15, min, temperature 180 ° C constant, and decorated on graphene oxide (simplified as ZCO and GO/ZCO). Compared to ZCO, the GO/ZCO electrode exhibits a large integral area and higher redox current response. Therefore, the GO/ZCO electrode may offer a rich number of electroactive sites for methanol electro-oxidation. The CV curves in 1.0 M KOH solution without methanol and with various concentrations of (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0,4.0 and 5.0 M) methanol measured at a scan rate of 40 mVs-1within in the potential window of -0.1 to 0.6 V for ZCO and GO/ZCO, respectively. The onset potential of the ZCO/ZCO-rGO electrode for methanol electro-oxidation is around 0.337/0.328 V. For electrochemical analysis, cyclic voltammetry (CV) indicated that the GO/ZCO nanocatalyst enhanced the methanol oxidation, compared to the lower activity in the ZCO nanocatalyst.