Investigation of methanol oxidation on nickel-cadmium coated graphite electrode

In this study, Ni, Cd, NiCd and NiCdZn were electrochemically deposited on a graphite electrode. The surface morphology and chemical composition of electrodes are determined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray florescence spectrometer (XRF). The catalytic effect of prepared electrodes for the methanol oxidation was studied in 1,00 M Methanol solution containing 1,00 M KOH by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The effects of chemical composition of coatings, deposition current density and deposition time were investigated and optimun conditions were determined for the methanol oxidation. It was found that, the methanol oxidation activity of coatings depends on the metal ratio, deposition current density and the deposition time of coatings. The alkaline leached NiCdZn coating has a compact and porous structure as well as good electrocatalytic activity for the methanol oxidation in alkaline media.