Comparative Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Reaction Studies of Spinel NiFe2O4 and Its Nanocarbon Hybrids

• Published in: Transactions of Tianjin University Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 80 - 88
• Main Authors: Shinde, Pratik V., Samal, Rutuparna, Rout, Chandra Sekhar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tianjin Tianjin University 01.02.2022; Springer Nature B.V; Centre for Nano and Material Sciences,Jain University, Bengaluru,Karnataka 562112,India
• Subjects: Carbon nanotubes; Carbonaceous materials; Chemical fuels; Chemical reactions; Current density; Electrocatalysts; Electrochemistry; Engineering; Graphene; Humanities and Social Sciences; Mechanical Engineering; multidisciplinary; Nickel ferrites; Oxygen evolution reactions; Research Article; Science; Spinel; Transition metal oxides; Metal oxide; Carbon nanotubes; Graphene oxide; Stability; Oxygen evolution reaction
• ISSN: 1006-4982; 1995-8196
• DOI: 10.1007/s12209-021-00310-x

Electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is one of the crucial reactions for converting renewable electricity into chemical fuel in the form of hydrogen. To date, there is still a challenge in designing ideal cost-effective OER catalysts with excellent activity and robust durability. The hybridization of transition metal oxides and carbonaceous materials is one of the most effective and promising strategies to develop high-performance electrocatalysts. Herein, this work synthesized hybrids of NiFe 2 O 4 spinel materials with two-dimensional (2D) graphene oxide and one-dimensional (1D) carbon nanotubes using a facile solvothermal approach. Electrocatalytic activities of NiFe 2 O 4 with 2D graphene oxide toward OER were realized to be superior even to the 1D carbon nanotube-based electrocatalyst in terms of overpotential to reach a current density of 10 mA/cm 2 as well as Tafel slopes. The NiFe 2 O 4 with 2D graphene oxide hybrid exhibits good stability with an overpotential of 327 mV at a current density of 10 mA/cm 2 and a Tafel slope of 103 mV/dec. The high performance of NiFe 2 O 4 with 2D graphene oxide is mainly attributed to its unique morphology, more exposed active sites, and a porous structure with a high surface area. Thus, an approach of hybridizing a metal oxide with a carbonaceous material offers an attractive platform for developing an efficient electrocatalyst for water electrochemistry applications.