Microfibrous Carbon Paper Decorated with High-Density Manganese Dioxide Nanorods: An Electrochemical Nonenzymatic Platform of Glucose Sensing.

Nanorod structures exhibit a high surface-to-volume ratio, enhancing the accessibility of electrolyte ions to the electrode surface and providing an abundance of active sites for improved electrochemical sensing performance. In this study, tetragonal α-MnO with a large K-embedded tunnel structure, directly grown on microfibrous carbon paper to form densely packed nanorod arrays, is investigated as an electrocatalytic material for non-enzymatic glucose sensing. The MnO nanorods electrode demonstrates outstanding catalytic activity for glucose oxidation, showcasing a high sensitivity of 143.

Enhanced Supercapacitor and Cycle-Life Performance: Self-Supported Nanohybrid Electrodes of Hydrothermally Grown MnO Nanorods on Carbon Nanotubes in Neutral Electrolyte.

Efficient and sustainable energy storage remains a critical challenge in the advancement of energy technologies. This study presents the fabrication and electrochemical evaluation of a self-supporting electrode material composed of MnO nanorods grown directly on a carbon paper and carbon nanotube (CNT) substrate using a hydrothermal method. The resulting CNT/MnO electrodes exhibit a unique structural architecture with a high surface area and a three-dimensional hierarchical arrangement, contributing to a substantial electrochemical surface area.

Porous carbonaceous materials simultaneously dispersing N, Fe and Co as bifunctional catalysts for the ORR and OER: electrochemical performance in a prototype of a Zn-air battery.

Infiltration of the mesoporous structure of SBA-15 silica as a hard template with phenanthroline complexes of Fe and Co allowed the simultaneous dispersion of nitrogen, iron and cobalt species on the surface of the obtained carbonaceous CMK-3 silica replica, with potential as bifunctional heterogeneous catalysts for the cathodic oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR and OER). The textural properties and mesopore structure depended on the composition of the material. The carbonaceous FeCoNCMK-3 (1/1), obtained with an Fe/Co molar ratio of 1/1, exhibited an ordered cylindrical mesoporous structure with a high mesopore volume, a rather homogeneous composition in terms of total and surface concentrations of iron and cobalt, and a balanced presence of pyridinic-, pyrrolic- and graphitic-N species.

Hybrid Carbon Sphere Chain-MnO Nanorods as Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalysts for Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries.

It is now recognized that the development of self-supported and efficient bifunctional air cathodes via the direct growth of earth-abundant catalysts onto the surface of the conductive collector would be a cutting-edge strategy to reduce interfacial resistance, enhance the mechanical tenure, and reduce the final weight and cost of manufacturing of rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs). This work reports an innovative self-supported precious metal-free electrode, comprising carbon sphere chains (CSCs) directly grown onto a carbon paper (CP) substrate, wherein the CSCs have a functionalized surface bearing carbon nanobud defects, oxygen functional groups, and high-density MnO hierarchical nanorods (NRs), uniformly coating the surface of CSCs. Not only is the metal-free functionalized CSC catalyst functional for both the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) but its combination with MnO NRs impressively enhances the ORR/OER activities.

Three-Dimensional Pinecone-like Binder-Free Pt-TiO Nanorods on Ti Mesh Structures: Synthesis, Characterization and Electroactivity towards Ethanol Oxidation.

We report here the synthesis of binderless and template-less three-dimensional (3D) pinecone-shaped Pt/TiO/Ti mesh structure. The TiO hydrothermally synthesized onto Ti mesh is composed of a mixture of flower-like nanorods and vertically aligned bar-shaped structures, whereas Pt film grown by pulsed laser deposition displays a smooth surface. XRD analyses reveal an average crystallite size of 41.

Advanced Zinc-Air Batteries with Free-Standing Hierarchical Nanostructures of the Air Cathode for Portable Applications.

It is today advanced that the development of a free-standing (binderless) air cathode via direct growth of nonprecious metal electrocatalysts onto the surface of the conductive collector would be a cutting-edge strategy to reduce the interfacial resistance, improve the mechanical stability, and reduce the final weight and the cost of manufacturing. Here, for Zn-air batteries (ZABs), we propose an innovative binderless noble-metal-free hierarchical nanostructured bifunctional air cathode in which high-density MnO nanorods (NRs) are directly grown on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) themselves synthesized on a microfibrous carbon paper (CP) substrate. All carbon/MnO air cathodes achieved specific capacities very close to the theoretical value of 820 mAh g.

Synthesis of free-standing ternary Rh-Pt-SnO-carbon nanotube nanostructures as a highly active and robust catalyst for ethanol oxidation.

The rational design of durable materials is an important issue for improving the performance of electrocatalysts towards the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). In this work, binderless thin nanostructured layers of SnO, Pt, Rh, bilayers of Pt/SnO, Rh/Pt and tri-layers of Rh ( 10 nm thickness)/PtSnO are directly grown by pulsed laser deposition onto carbon nanotubes (CNTs). SEM analysis shows that CNTs are perfectly coated with the catalysts.

Tungsten oxide-Au nanosized film composites for glucose oxidation and sensing in neutral medium.

In this work, we report for the first time the use of tungsten oxide (WOx) as catalyst support for Au toward the direct electrooxidation of glucose. The nanostructured WOx/Au electrodes were synthesized by means of laser-ablation technique. Both micro-Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that the produced WOx thin film is amorphous and made of ultrafine particles of subnanometer size.

Interrelated functionalities of hierarchically CNT/CeO2/Pt nanostructured layers: synthesis, characterization, and electroactivity.

We present a free-standing catalyst layer comprising current collector/CNTs (catalyst support)/CeO(2)/Pt (catalyst) nanostructured layers, each layer constructed upon the one below it. FESEM and TEM showed that a CeO(2) layer has a fluffy morphology recalling the texture of cotton, whereas Pt nanoparticles assemble into cauliflower or broccoli-like arrangement. New insights have been gained into the effect of CeO(2) on the structural properties of the beneath CNTs layer and on the above Pt layer.

Binderless carbon nanotube/carbon fibre composites for electrochemical micropower sources.

Interesting architectures built with electrically conductive substrates of interest for microelectrochemical power sources were obtained by directly growing carbon nanotubes on each microfibre constituting a carbon paper. The carbon nanotubes were fabricated by the chemical vapour deposition technique. Results of electrochemical tests showed high-resolution responses in different chemical media, which indicate good electrical contact between the carbon nanotubes and the carbon paper substrate.