Nickel Sulfide (Ni₃S₂)/Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) Nanohybrids for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity Towards Methanol Oxidation

Abstract

In the present work, nanohybrids of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and nickel sulphide (Ni3S2) have been prepared using hydrothermal method and have been explored as anode material in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Hydrothermal method has been used to synthesize MWCNTs/Ni3S2 nanohybrids with three different concentrations. These nanohybrids have been characterized through field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, X-Ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopic techniques. From the electrochemical studies, Cyclic Voltammograms (CVs) and Tafel Plots demonstrate that the MWCNTs/Ni3S2 nanohybrid with optimized Ni3S2 exhibits superior electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) due to synergistic effects of superior electrocatalytic activity of Ni3S2 and high charge transporting MWCNTs. Moreover the optimized nanohybrid also shows persistent current density over a longer period of time.