Cyclic Voltammetrically Prepared MnO2-Polyaniline Composite and Its Electrocatalysis for Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR)

The composite of manganese dioxide-polyaniline (MnO2-PANI) was successfully prepared by cyclic voltammetry (CV) from a 0.5 M H2SO4 solution containing 0.2 M aniline and 0.5 M MnSO4. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed that cauliflower like manganese dioxides entangled with PANI were generated. The spectra obtained from UV-vis spectrophotometry (UV-vis) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) strongly demonstrated that this novel composite was composed by MnO2 and PANI, and also there was an interaction between MnO2 and PANI. Then, for the first time, this resultant composite was modified on a graphite electrode and employed in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), subsequently, the obtained cyclic voltammograms (CVs) verified that ORR could proceed on this resultant composite of MnO2-PANI. Lastly, the possible catalysis mechanism of MnO2-PANI towards ORR was proposed based on the results we acquired. Developing a novel substrate on which ORR could proceed is the main contribution of this work.