Multifunctional delafossite CuFeO2 as water splitting catalyst and rhodamine B sensor

• Published in: Materials chemistry and physics Vol. 278; p. 125643
• Main Authors: Mao, Lingbo, Mohan, Swati, Gupta, Santosh K., Mao, Yuanbing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 15.02.2022; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Catalysts; CuFeO2; Delafossite; Hydrogen evolution reaction; Hydrogen evolution reactions; Materials science; Metal oxides; Morphology; Oxygen evolution reaction; Oxygen evolution reactions; Rhodamine; Sensing; Sol-gel processes; Water splitting; Hydrogen evolution reaction; Sensing; Delafossite; CuFeO2; Oxygen evolution reaction
• ISSN: 0254-0584; 1879-3312
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matchemphys.2021.125643

A material which can demonstrate multifunctional applications towards energy and environment can be considered as a great component of materials science towards mankind. Delafossites are considered an excellent catalytic material whose performance depends on the composition, morphology, and size of materials tuned by their synthesis conditions and processes. In this work, we have developed CuFeO2 particles as a type of ternary metal oxides using hydrothermal (HCF) and sol-gel (SCF) methods. Their structures, morphology, vibrational mode, and purity are investigated and characterized by XRD, Raman, FESEM, FTIR and EDX analysis. Both the HCF and SCF samples demonstrate bifunctional catalytic activities towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) while the former has higher current density and lower overpotential compared to the latter towards both OER and HER owing to its uniform shape and smaller size making it a better catalyst. The HCF sample further shows its potential as a sensing material towards Rhodamine B. [Display omitted] •Comparison of catalytic performance of sol-gel (SCF) and hydrothermal (HCF) synthesized delafossite CuFeO2.•HCF and SCF demonstrated bifunctional catalytic activities towards hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions.•HCF sample had higher current density and lower overpotential than SCF sample.•HCF sample also showed potential towards sensing of Rhodamine B dye.