Electrochemical Preparation of Copper-Based/Titanate Intercalation Electrode Material

This work demonstrated for the first time the feasibility of electrochemical preparation of copper-based/titanate intercalation electrode material. Cupric ion was first intercalated into the layered titanate host by ion exchange and subsequently reduced by electrochemical methods, resulting in the copper-based/titanate intercalation electrode materials. The successful formation of copper-based/titanate (Cu-TO) intercalation materials by electrochemical reduction following ion exchange (Cu(II)-TO) were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and conventional electrochemical techniques. The effects of experimental conditions, i.e., dispersant for ion exchange, electroreductive medium, and methods, on activities of the resulting electrode materials toward glucose electrooxidition were investigated in detail. Results revealed that both the stability and the electrooxidative activity to glucose of Cu-TO intercalation electrode materials were largely improved compared with that of Cu(II)-TO, indicating the necessity and superiority of the electrochemical reduction step carried out following ion exchange. The potential applications of this new class of copper-based/titanate materials in electrocatalysis and electroanalysis were demonstrated. Present study provides a low cost and simply controlled test-bed for fundamental study on electrochemical preparation of a new class of metallic/metal-based titanate intercalation materials for electrocatalysis, electroanalysis, and relevant fields.