Auspicious Metal-Doped-Cu2O/Cu Dendrite (M=Ni, Co, Fe) Catalysts for Direct Alkaline Fuel Cells: Effect of Dopants

Herein, honeycomb nickel-, cobalt- and iron-doped Cu2O/Cu foams with dendrite-like structures are in-situ formed atop of a copper foil substrate using the facile and low-cost dynamic hydrogen bubbles template technique (DHBT), wherein the copper nanoparticles are electrodeposited and grow in the interstitial spaces between the hydrogen bubbles. The incorporation of nickel, cobalt and iron impurities (less than 4%) into the Cu2O/Cu structures improved their performance significantly for various electrochemical reactions including water splitting, glucose and glycerol electrooxidation. This outstanding enhancement is attributed to the catalysts dendritic structures providing an easily accessible high active surface area. In addition, the doped metals are believed to increase the electrochemically active surface area and to facilitate the electron transfer in the studied reactions. Besides, the presence of these dopants improved the adsorption of glucose and glycerol molecules on the copper surface active sites together with increasing the Cu2O's inherent conductivity.