Preparation of reduced graphene oxide-NiFe2O4 nanocomposites for the electrocatalytic oxidation of hydrazine

A reduced graphene oxide (RGO)-NiFe2O4 nanocomposite was synthesized by a simple one step hydrothermal approach and its application in the electrocatalytic oxidation of hydrazine was demonstrated. The as-synthesized nanocomposite was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric analysis, Field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The FE-SEM and TEM image analyses revealed that the NiFe2O4 nanoparticles were uniformly distributed on the RGO sheets with a diameter and length of ∼10 and ∼100 nm, respectively. The XPS analysis confirmed the ionic states of Ni and Fe to be Ni3+ and Ni2+, and Fe2+ and Fe3+, respectively. Further, the electrochemical activity of the RGO-NiFe2O4 nanocomposite was investigated by studying the oxidation of hydrazine. The RGO-NiFe2O4 modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) showed an outstanding electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of hydrazine as compared to the NiFe2O4 and RGO modified electrodes. The enhanced electrocatalytic activity is due to the synergistic effect between RGO and NiFe2O4. Using amperometry, the lowest detection limit of 200 nM was achieved with the RGO-NiFe2O4 modified GCE. Therefore, the RGO-NiFe2O4 modified GCE can be used for the electrochemical oxidation of hydrazine.