Preparation, physicochemical, and electrochemical properties of magnetite electrodes for methanol electrocatalytic oxidation in an alkaline medium

Iron oxide nanoparticles are novel functional materials applicable in catalysis. Herein, the proposed method involved synthesis of electrocatalyst iron oxide nanoparticles and their application in oxidation process of methanol. The iron oxide nanoparticles prepared using co-precipitation chemical method, in which ferric and ferrous ions were mixed in a 1:2M ratio in highly basic solutions. The electrocatalyst Fe3O4 further applied for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) in 0.5M KOH solution at room temperature. MOR was performed on cyclic voltammeter (CV) also measured polarization of process. The methanol oxidation on cyclic voltammetry expressed forward and backward oxidation peak with function of currents at 0.7 and 0.5V. The prepared Fe3O4 nanoparticles showed significant magnetic property measured by a vibration magnetometer at 300K. Also, the structure and surface morphology of the catalyst were characterized using X-ray diffraction and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM)-energy dispersive spectroscopy, respectively. ESEM was used to determine Fe3O4 particle size and a high degree of nanoparticle dispersion in oxidation system.