Ni&Mn nanoparticles-decorated carbon nanofibers as effective electrocatalyst for urea oxidation

Compared to alcohols, urea is considered an interesting hydrogen and electrical energy source as it is available in industrial and municipal wastes. Ni&Mn nanoparticles-decorated carbon nanofibers are introduced as effective and stable electrocatalysts for urea oxidation. The introduced decorated carbon nanofibers were synthesized by calcination of electrospun mats composed of nickel acetate, manganese acetate and poly(vinyl alcohol) in argon atmosphere at 850 °C. The utilized characterization techniques, XRD, TEM, FE SEM and TEM-EDX analyses, confirmed formation of carbon nanofibers decorated by discrete Ni, Mn and NiMn nanoparticles and absence of any oxides. The electrochemical measurements indicated that the introduced nanofibers have good electrocatalytic activity toward urea oxidation as the observed current density was 300 mAcm-2 g-1 with an onset potential of 290 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl). Moreover, the results proved that incorporation of manganese and the nanofibrous morphology distinctly enhance the electrocatalytic activity of nickel toward urea oxidation.