Facile synthesis and characterization of Sc 2 O 3 nanoparticles for electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol: Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry studies

Abstract In this research, scandium oxide, Sc 2 O 3 , nanoparticles (Sc 2 O 3 NPs) 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 Sc 2 O 3 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 O 2p → Sc 3d charge-transfer interaction. In the next step, Sc 2 O 3 NPs were used for modification of carbon paste electrode (CPE) surface. Then, the electrocatalytic properties of the Sc 2 O 3 NPs/CPE towards ethanol oxidation were compared with the CPE. The results showed the electrocatalytic performance of the Sc 2 O 3 NPs/CPE is higher than the unmodified CPE. Also, chronoamperometry studies showed that Sc 2 O 3 /CPE has long-term stability against the poisoning species, as compared with the CPE. Therefore, Sc 2 O 3 catalyst is proposed as an efficient anodic electrode for use in direct ethanol fuel cells in acidic media.