Preparation of Ni/PPy Nanowires Modified Electrode and Its Electrocatalytic Activity to Nitrate

Polypyrrole (PPy) nanowires were prepared by template-free method electrochemically and Ni/PPy nanowires composited modified electrodes were prepared by electrodeposited Ni on the PPy nanowires modified graphite electrodes. The electrode surfaces were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The electrocatalytic activity of Ni/PPy nanowires (Ni-GS) and Ni/PPy cauliflower (Ni-GS-CF) modified graphite electrodes towards nitrate were characterized by the reduction current of the nitrate. The effects of electrolysis solution acidity on the reduction potential difference between the two modified graphite electrodes and the bare graphite electrodes were examined. The effect of electrolytic potentials on the reduction of nitrate was examined by the amount of removal nitrate. The experimental results showed that the electrolytic potentials have significantly effects on the amount of removal nitrate. Considering the energy consumption, low electrolytic potential is favourable to the electrolysis of nitrate.