Nickel/poly (o-toluidine)/Triton X-100 Film Modified Carbon Nanotube Paste Electrode for Methanol Oxidation

In this work, for the first time an aqueous solution of Triton X-100 (TX-100) nonionic surfactant is used as an additive for electropolymerization of o-toluidine (OT) onto multi-walled carbon nanotube paste electrode (CNTPE), which is investigated as a novel matrix for dispersion of catalysts. The as-prepared substrate is used as porous matrix for dispersion of transition metal ions of Ni(II) to POT/TX-100 film by immersing the modified electrode in a 0.1 M nickel sulfate solution. The electrochemical characterization of this modified electrode exhibits redox behavior of Ni(III)/Ni(II) couple. It has been shown that POT/TX- 100 at the surface of CNTPE improves catalytic efficiency of the dispersed nickel ions toward methanol oxidation. Then, using a chronoamperometric method, the catalytic rate constant, k, for methanol oxidation is found to be 7.40 ×104 cm3 mol-1 s-1. At the end of this work, long-term stability of the modified electrode has been investigated.

Keywords:

Triton X-100 , Poly (o-toluidine) , Nickel , Methanol oxidation , Carbon nanotube