Nickel/cobalt alloys modified electrodes: Synthesis, characterization and optimization of the electrocatalytical response

• The electrochemical deposition of Ni/Co alloys is easy and straightforward.
• Voltammetric and FTIR experiments showed the formation of a composite material.
• SEM images have shown the presence of individual nanostructures at lower deposition times.
• The incorporation of cobalt into nickel hydroxide matrix led to a cathodic shift in the redox potentials.
• The 50:50 (Ni/Co) modified electrode was used as central point for the elaboration of a factorial design.

In this work we present the electrochemical deposition of nickel/cobalt alloys onto platinum electrodes followed by their conversion into the respective electrocatalytic hydroxide form. The modified electrodes were analyzed by cyclic voltammetry and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The electrocatalytic behavior was analyzed using glucose as electrochemical probe obtaining the sensitivities of detection. The sensitivities were normalized by the amount of active material onto the electrode surface. The presence of cobalt into the nickel hydroxide matrix led to a shift in the redox pair, achieving by this way the electrocatalytic form at lower potentials. The SEM images showed the presence of nanostructures at lower deposition times and the formation of a unique material which is not the simply deposition of nickel and cobalt separately. The composite was also studied by FTIR spectroscopy. We elaborated a detailed factorial design by using the electrode modified by the 50:50 (Ni:Co) proportion and 5 s of deposition as central point in order to find out the best electrode modification.