Date of Award
12-5-2018
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Applied Science
First Advisor
Anindya Ghosh
Abstract
The use of metal catalysts supported on the carbon nanomaterials as electrocatalysts has propelled the development of modified electrodes for electrochemical studies. They have been shown to increase sensitivity and electrical conductivity making them advantageous in applications for fuel cells, sensors and supercapacitors. In this dissertation, the synthesis and characterization of metal catalysts supported on carbon nanomaterials will be discussed and their electrochemical activity towards fuel cells, sensor and supercapacitor studies will be explored. Due to the great need for energy efficient and environmentally benign energy devices that can replace the use of fossil fuels in energy production, fuel cells have been employed for this application. However, the expensive platinum electrode limits their widespread use and commercialization. Thus, the development of inexpensive materials to reduced fuel cell cost has been researched. In Chapter 3, the design of an amidomacrocyclic cobalt catalyst supported on graphene is presented. In this study, this nanocomposite was prepared as an electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in acidic and alkaline conditions. In Chapter 4, the use of a novel manganese- amidomacrocyclic catalyst supported on graphene for ORR is detailed. This electrocatalyst was further coated with polydopamine and shown to exhibit lower overpotential for ORR, which can be attributed to the better conductivities of nitrogen- doped materials. The second electrochemical application that was researched was the preparation of a non-enzymatic sensor. Enzymatic sensors have issues with cost and stability, which leads scientists to develop non-enzymatic sensors that can overcome these hindrances. In Chapter 5, a cobalt nanocomposite supported on multiwalled carbon nanotubes was employed as a sensor for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) detection in nanomolar concentrations. Moreover, this electrocatalyst was employed for concentration determination of several H2O2 in several commercial products, which proved successful. Lastly, the development of cobalt catalyst-polypyrrole films for supercapacitors is discussed in Chapter 6. Supercapacitors are energy storing devices that have quick charge-discharge cycles for increased longevity. The cobalt catalyst and pyrrole were electrochemically deposited on a glassy carbon electrode and exhibited excellent supercapacitor capabilities with high capacitance values. Overall, these studies have revealed the widespread application of amidomacrocyclic metal catalysts in various electrochemical applications.
Recommended Citation
Parnell, Charlette, "Synthesis, Characterization and Enhanced Electrochemical Performance of Amide-Based Metal Complexes as Electrocatalysts in Energy Devices and Non-Enzymatic Sensor" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 851.
https://research.ualr.edu/etd/851
