Electrochemical behaviour of metal hexacyanoferrate converted to metal hydroxide films immobilized on indium tin oxide electrodes—Catalytic ability towards alcohol oxidation in alkaline medium

In this work, we demonstrate a simple method to modify indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes in order to perform electro-catalytic oxidation of alcohols in alkaline medium. Metal hexacyanoferrate (MHCF) films such as nickel hexacyanoferrate (NiHCF) and copper hexacyanoferrate (CuHCF) were successfully immobilized on ITO electrodes using an electrochemical method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to characterize the structural and morphological aspects of MHCF films. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was used to study the redox properties and to determine the surface coverage of these films on ITO electrodes. Electrochemical potential cycling was carried out in alkaline medium in order to alter the chemical structure of these films and convert to their corresponding metal hydroxide films. SEM and XPS were performed to analyze the structure and morphology of metal hydroxide modified electrodes. Electro-catalytic oxidation ability of these films towards methanol and ethanol in alkaline medium was investigated using CV. From these studies we found that metal hydroxide modified electrodes show a better catalytic performance and good stability for methanol oxidation along with the alleviation of CO poisoning effect. We have obtained an anodic oxidation current density of ∼82 mA cm⁻² for methanol oxidation, which is at least 10 fold higher than that of any metal hydroxide modified electrodes reported till date. The onset potential for methanol oxidation is lowered by ∼200 mV compared to other chemically modified electrodes reported. A plausible mechanism was proposed for the alcohol oxidation based on the redox properties of these modified electrodes. The methodology adapted in this work does not contain costlier noble metals like platinum and ruthenium and is economically viable.