Electrocatalytic performance of NiNH2BDC MOF based composites with rGO for methanol oxidation reaction

Lubna Yaqoob; Tayyaba Noor; Naseem Iqbal; Habib Nasir; Asad Mumtaz

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-92660-8

Electrocatalytic performance of NiNH₂BDC MOF based composites with rGO for methanol oxidation reaction

Sci Rep. 2021 Jun 28;11(1):13402. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-92660-8.

Authors

Lubna Yaqoob¹, Tayyaba Noor², Naseem Iqbal³, Habib Nasir¹, Asad Mumtaz¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Natural Sciences (SNS), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan.
² School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan. tayyaba.noor@scme.nust.edu.pk.
³ U.S-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCAS-E), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12 Campus, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan.

Abstract

Present work comprehensively investigated the electrochemical response of Nickel-2 Aminoterephthalic acid Metal-Organic Framework (NiNH₂BDC) and its reduced graphitic carbon (rGO) based hybrids for methanol (CH₃OH) oxidation reaction (MOR) in an alkaline environment. In a thorough analysis of a solvothermally synthesized Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) and its reduced graphitic carbon-based hybrids, functional groups detection was performed by FTIR, the morphological study by SEM, crystal structure analysis via XRD, and elemental analysis through XPS while electrochemical testing was accomplished by Chronoamperometry (CA), Cyclic Voltametric method (CV), Electrochemically Active Surface Area (EASA), Tafel slope (b), Electron Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), Mass Activity, and roughness factor. Among all the fabricated composites, NiNH₂BDC MOF/5 wt% rGO hybrid by possessing an auspicious current density (j) of 267.7 mA/cm² at 0.699 V (vs Hg/HgO), a Tafel slope value of 60.8 mV dec^-1, EASA value of 15.7 cm², and by exhibiting resistance of 13.26 Ω in a 3 M CH₃OH/1 M NaOH solution displays grander electrocatalytic activity as compared to state-of-the-art platinum-based electrocatalysts.