Nano-ZSM-5 zeolite: Synthesis and application to electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol

•Synthesis of nanocrystalline zeolite was done under atmospheric condition using clear solution.•Characterization of synthesized nano zeolite was studied using FT-IR, XRD and SEM techniques.•Synthesized nano zeolite was used for preparing modified electrode for oxidation of ethanol.•The rate constant for ethanol oxidation was found to be 1.23 ∗ 106 cm2 s−1 mol−1.

Direct oxidation of small organic alcohols as the fuel for direct alcohol fuel cells leads to large over-voltages with low current on the surface of most unmodified electrodes. Developing new procedures for the electro-catalytic oxidation of ethanol to increase the produced current is very much desirable. This paper reports a new nano-sized zeolite-modified carbon paste electrode (NZMCPE) based on NiZSM-5 for ethanol electro-oxidation. Nano-crystallites of ZSM-5, with an average particle size of around 63 nm, were synthesized using clear solutions at the low temperature of 90 °C under atmospheric pressure. They were characterized using the XRD, FT-IR and SEM techniques. Ni (ІІ) ions were incorporated in the zeolite framework by the immersion of modified carbon paste electrode with the synthesized zeolite in a 0.5 M nickel chloride solution. The electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol was investigated using the cyclic voltammetry technique and the rate constant for catalytic reaction through chronoamprometric method was calculated 1.23 ∗ 106 cm3 s−1 mol−1.

Graphical abstractSEM image of synthesized nano crystalline ZSM-5 zeolite, using a clear solution under atmospheric conditions.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide