Electrochemical Synthesis of Polyaniline on Onion-like Carbon Nanoparticles using the Rotating Disk Slurry Electrode Technique

The main source of energy in the world is fossil fuels, but these can irreparably harm the environment. My research focuses on making a catalyst that is economical, efficient, and environmentally friendly. The oxygen reduction reaction is an important reaction for energy conversion systems, such as fuel cells. Onion-like carbon nanoparticles are used as a catalytic support for fuel cell applications due to its high conductivity and surface-to-volume ratio. The combination of carbon compounds with conductive polymers results in new materials and devices with possible practical applications. In my research we obtain onion-like carbon from nanodiamonds through a pyrolysis process. These particles are then polymerized using the aniline monomer to dope the OLCs with nitrogen. These particles are characterized by different characterization techniques such as Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. After characterizing them, electrochemical experiments were carried out.