Electrocatalytic performance of three dimensional electrode Cu/reduced graphene oxide/carbon fiber for nitrate reduction

A sensitive and reliable three dimensional electrodes consisting of Cu particles/reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/carbon fiber (CF) were development to investigate their performance for nitrate electroreduction. For rGO/CF binary composite, FEG-SEM images showed the characteristic aggregates with irregular and flakes-like shape with high particle density on CF substrate. The Cu deposits depicted small grain morphologies distributed throughout the rGO/CF surface. As expected, Cu deposit rate increased with increasing the deposition time. From X-ray diffraction analyses of the Cu particles, a mixture of phases containing cuprous oxide and metallic copper was identified. Under optimal experimental conditions, the Cu/rGO/CF electrode showed good catalytic activity for nitrate electroreduction. This behavior can be associated to the presence of rGO and CF with high specific surface area in addition to Cu particle with high electron transfer capability. These results showed that Cu/rGO/CF composite has a great potential as new promising electrode for nitrate electroreduction application.