Graphite Carbon-Supported Mo(2)C Nanocomposites by a Single-Step Solid State Reaction for Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction

Novel graphite-molybdenum carbide nanocomposites (G-Mo(2)C) are synthesized by a typical solid state reaction with melamine and MoO(3) as precursors under inert atmosphere. The characterization results indicate that G-Mo(2)C composites are composed of high crystallization and purity of Mo(2)C and few layers of graphite carbon. Mo(2)C nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 5 to 50 nm are uniformly supported by surrounding graphite layers. It is believed that Mo atom resulting from the reduction of MoO(3) is beneficial to the immobilization of graphite carbon. Moreover, the electrocatalytic performances of G-Mo(2)C for ORR in alkaline medium are investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), rotating disk electrode (RDE) and chronoamperometry test with 3M methanol. The results show that G-Mo(2)C has a considerable catalytic activity and superior methanol tolerance performance for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) benefiting from the chemical interaction between the carbide nanoparticles and graphite carbon.