Lanthanum nickel oxide nano-perovskite decorated carbon nanotubes/poly (aniline) composite for effective electrochemical oxidation of urea

Here in, we introduce a modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode with two successive layers of conducting poly(aniline) (PANI) and lanthanum nickel oxide (LNO)-carbon nanotubes (CNT) mixture, (GC/PANI/LNO-CNT), for urea electrooxidation in alkaline medium. The use of La2NiO4 perovskite is advantageous with relatively low weight percentage of Ni (14.6%) compared to other Ni-based catalysts for electrooxidation of urea. The perovskite catalyst is synthesized using microwave-assistedmethod that reduces chemicals and energy consumption. Perovskite-based catalyst has good ionic and electronic conducting behavior, high oxygen mobility within its lattice with remarkable charge transfer rate. Carbon nanotubes increase the surface area of the electrode and act as a catalyst support to enhance the urea conversion process. Under optimized conditions, the specific current for urea electrooxidation is 1400 mA mg(-1) cm(-2). The perovskite catalyst and the (PANI/LNO-CNT) composite were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive analysis (SEM-EDAX). The composite is applicable in temperature range (10 degrees C to 50 degrees C), and at different urea concentrations (0.1Mto 1.0M) in basic (KOH) electrolyte. (c) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.