Facile Preparation of Porous Carbon Flake-Supported Nickel Nanoplates as Effective Catalysts for Methanol Electrooxidation

Abstract

Herein, we report a facile and efficient method for fabricating porous carbon flakes (PCFs)-supported nickel nanoplates (Ni NPs) as electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation in alkaline media. The catalyst was fabricated in one step using molten salt synthesis. Various techniques were used to characterize the morphology and composition of the Ni NPs@PCFs catalyst, and these revealed that the Ni NPs were dispersed finely across the PCFs with a highly crystalline structure. The Ni NPs@PCFs catalyst demonstrated high electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation (121 mA/cm(2) vs. Ag/AgCl), and it had an onset potential of 0.35 V. It also exhibited high stability in an alkaline electrolyte for the duration of the experiment (up to 2000 s).