Mohamed Fatma, Shaban Mohamed, Salem Omnia M
Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62514, Egypt.
Nanophotonics and Applications (NPA) Lab, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62514, Egypt.
Sci Rep. 2025 Feb 7;15(1):4603. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-85579-x.
The primary requirement for electrode materials in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) is efficient electrocatalyst that exhibit high tolerance to methanol oxidation, excellent stability, and reasonable cost. The combination of distinct active materials with distinctive architectures may facilitate the attainment of this objective. The present study included the preparation of a Carbon Xerogel Doped with various metal oxides derived from Banana peels. The nanocomposites were thoroughly examined utilizing several characterization modalities including XRD, FTIR, and SEM. The electrocatalytic performance of Carbon xerogel doped with Iron (Fe3O4/CX), carbon xerogel doped with magnesium (MgO/CX), and carbon xerogel doped with Copper (CuO/CX) about the Methanol Oxidation Reaction (MOR) was investigated using electrochemical methods such as cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy, and chronoamperometry. The results showed that the Fe3O4/CX, MgO/CX, and CuO/CX are effective electrocatalysts with an onset potential of around 1.00 V and current densities of approximately 42.98 mA cm - 2, 28.2784 mA.cm - 2, and 6.60698 mA.cm - 2, respectively, in the optimized electrolyte for methanol oxidation. The stability of Fe3O4/CX, MgO/CX, and CuO/CX electrodes was examined using chronoamperometry and the Cyclic Stability method. The results revealed that the (Fe3O4/CX) electrode exhibited outstanding stability throughout the whole 60-minute chronoamperometry Technique and demonstrated great stability for 100 cycles in the Cyclic Stability technique. The remarkable electrochemical activity and stability may be attributed to the synergistic effect of Fe3O4/CX, which provided sufficient active sites for methanol electro-oxidation and reduced the equivalent series resistance, as shown by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis. This work used environmentally friendly materials, which presents a novel opportunity to enhance the efficiency of methanol oxidation via the utilization of affordable catalysts. This study of the theoretical technique methods for establishing the route of methanol decomposition, and systematizes their confirmation with experimental data, within the methodological framework.
直接甲醇燃料电池（DMFC）中电极材料的首要要求是高效的电催化剂，该催化剂要对甲醇氧化具有高耐受性、出色的稳定性且成本合理。将不同的活性材料与独特的结构相结合可能有助于实现这一目标。本研究包括制备掺杂有源自香蕉皮的各种金属氧化物的碳干凝胶。利用包括XRD、FTIR和SEM在内的多种表征方式对纳米复合材料进行了全面研究。使用循环伏安法、阻抗谱和计时电流法等电化学方法研究了掺杂铁的碳干凝胶（Fe3O4/CX）、掺杂镁的碳干凝胶（MgO/CX）和掺杂铜的碳干凝胶（CuO/CX）对甲醇氧化反应（MOR）的电催化性能。结果表明，在优化的甲醇氧化电解液中，Fe3O4/CX、MgO/CX和CuO/CX是有效的电催化剂，其起始电位约为1.00 V，电流密度分别约为42.98 mA cm - 2、28.2784 mA.cm - 2和6.60698 mA.cm - 2。使用计时电流法和循环稳定性方法研究了Fe3O4/CX、MgO/CX和CuO/CX电极的稳定性。结果表明，（Fe3O4/CX）电极在整个60分钟的计时电流法测试过程中表现出出色的稳定性，并且在循环稳定性测试中100次循环都表现出良好的稳定性。如电化学阻抗谱分析所示，显著的电化学活性和稳定性可能归因于Fe3O4/CX的协同效应，它为甲醇电氧化提供了足够的活性位点并降低了等效串联电阻。这项工作使用了环保材料，这为通过使用经济实惠的催化剂提高甲醇氧化效率提供了一个新机会。本研究在方法框架内探讨了建立甲醇分解途径的理论技术方法，并用实验数据对其进行了系统验证。
