Facile synthesis and characterization of Sc2O3 nanoparticles for electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol: Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry studies

In this research, scandium oxide, Sc2O3, nanoparticles (Sc2O3NPs) were synthesized via a facile and simple sol-gel auto-combustion process with olive oil as capping agent. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-DRS) were used to characterize the particle size, morphology and optical properties of the calcined powders. The XRD patterns showed that Sc2O3 nanoparticles have cubic structure with particle size about 8 nm. UV-vis spectroscopy showed a strong sharp absorption peak around 315 nm, attributed to the O2p → Sc3d charge-transfer interaction. In the next step, Sc2O3NPs were used for modification of carbon paste electrode (CPE) surface. Then, the electrocatalytic properties of the Sc2O3NPs/CPE towards ethanol oxidation were compared with the CPE. The results showed the electrocatalytic performance of the Sc2O3NPs/CPE is higher than the unmodified CPE. Also, chronoamperometry studies showed that Sc2O3/CPE has long-term stability against the poisoning species, as compared with the CPE. Therefore, Sc2O3 catalyst is proposed as an efficient anodic electrode for use in direct ethanol fuel cells in acidic media.