New route to monodispersed zinc ferrite nanoparticles and its excellent oxygen reduction reaction property

In recent years, numerous researchers have focused on the synthesis of well-defined structure and morphology of zinc ferrite (ZnFe₂O₄) due to their excellent electric and ferromagnetic properties. However, the electro-catalytic properties of ZnFe₂O₄ have not been attached importance in nanoenergy field. In this work, monodispersed ZnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles with average diameter of 15 nm were successfully synthesized via a novel solvothermal route using benzylamine as solvent. The band gap of ZnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles obtained by UV-vis absorption spectrum was determined to be 1.83 eV. The ORR activity of ZnFe₂O₄ was investigated by the rotating disk electrode (RDE) result including cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and Koutecky-Levich model. A remarkable electron transfer rate of ZnFe₂O₄ was observed owing to the domination of fourelectron pathway in ORR. The outstanding durability and superior tolerance to methanol of ZnFe₂O₄ were further validated by amperometric i-t test. These findings may provide an opportunity to develop the narrow gap spinel semiconductors using as ORR catalysts.