Fabrication and Electrocatalytic Activity of Fe-Cu/C Composites Based on Copper Ferrite Modified with Graphene Oxide and Graphitic Carbon Nitride

A facile co-precipitation method was employed to synthesize copper(II) ferrite composites with carbon materials (reduced graphene oxide, graphitic carbon nitride, and their mixture), followed by heat treatment at 700 °C. To obtain Fe-Cu-containing catalysts, copper ferrite composites were electrochemically reduced. Structures, compositions, and morphologies of the composites were studied using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction techniques, and thermogravimetric analysis. The results showed that graphitic carbon nitride had the strongest effect on the phase composition of copper ferrite. Crystalline phases of reduced copper and iron metals appear in the CuFe2O4/g-C3N4 composite during the annealing process, facilitating further complete electrochemical reduction of copper ferrite and shortening its duration. The resulting Fe-Cu/C composites were used as catalysts in the electrohydrogenation of acetophenone as a model compound. The activation of the cathode with Fe-Cu/C catalysts increases the rate of acetophenone hydrogenation and leads to the selective formation of a single product, 1-phenylethanol, in high yields.