Preparation of MWCNT/TiO2-Co nanocomposite electrode by electrophoretic deposition and electrochemical study of hydrogen storage

The TiO2-Co nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by a sol gel method. Multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) decorated with TiO2-Co NPs (CNT/TiO2-Co) nano-composite films, free of polymer binder were deposited directly on a copper substrate by an electrophoresis deposition (EPD) method. The morphology, structure and composition of the samples were characterized. Electrochemical properties of CNT/TiO2-nanocomposite were investigated using galvanostatic charge discharge techniques. The electrochemical measurement revealed that the CNT/TiO2-Co has a discharge capacity (305 mAh/g) two times higher than that of pure multiwall CNT and 1.6 times higher than CNT/TiO2 and quite appealing for the battery applications. The mechanism of enhancement of the electrochemical activity for the CNT/TiO2-Co could be attributed to the electrochemical activity of Cu and CNTs that were catalyzed by TiO2 thus enabling cobalt atoms to act as redoxing sites for hydrogen storage. Copyright (C) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.