One-pot synthesis of crossed Fe2O3 nanosheets in-situ grown on Ni foam and the application for H2O2 electrooxidation

In this work, one-pot hydrothermal method is used to prepare a novel electrode material of nanosheet-like Fe2O3 in-situ grown on Ni foam. The performance of the as-prepared material toward H2O2 oxidation is investigated systematically. The crossed nanosheet-like structure allows a full contact between the electrode surface and electrolyte which is highly beneficial to the sufficient use of H2O2. The catalytic activity of Fe2O3 grown on Ni foam(Fe2O3/Ni foam) electrode in alkaline medium for H2O2 oxidation is researched by methods of cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. According to the results of cyclic voltammetry in solutions with different H2O2 concentrations, we proposes a possible reaction mechanism that the good ability of Fe3+ to break the oxygen-hydrogen bond in H2O2 leads to the oxidation of H2O2 on the electrode. Meanwhile, Ni foam also has a positive effect on the process of H2O2 oxidation. In a solution of 4 mol L−1 NaOH and 0.4 mol L−1 H2O2, the current density of H2O2 oxidation on the Fe2O3/Ni foam electrode is 800 mA cm−2 revealing a desirable catalytic activity toward H2O2 oxidation. Besides, the activation energy of H2O2 oxidation on the Fe2O3/Ni foam electrode is calculated to be 9.17 kJ mol−1 by studying the influence of temperature on the electrode performance. All the results show that the as-prepared electrode exhibits vast prospect in application.