Electrocatalytic Activity of α-MoO 3 Plates Synthesized Through Resistive Heating Route

Characterization and electrochemical application of α-MoO3 hierarchical plates achieved through direct resistive heating of molybdenum foils, at ambient pressure and in absence of templates or catalysts, has been reported. The plates with an orthorhombic single-crystalline structure, as observed by SEM, TEM, SAD and Raman-scattering techniques. They are about 100–200 nm in thickness and a few tens micrometers in length. Electrochemical characterization of α-MoO3 plates casted on Pt electrodes was performed by Cyclic Voltammetry in phosphate buffer to investigate the properties of this material against methanol oxidation. Reported results indicate that α-MoO3/Pt devices were suitable to promote the electroxidation of methanol in sensing and/or fuel cell anodes development applications.