Interfacial engineering of α-Fe2O3 coupled Co3O4 heterostructures anchored on g-C3N4 structure for enhanced electrocatalytic performance in alkaline oxygen evolution reaction

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy 2024-01, Vol.53, p.1445-1456
• Main Authors: Vignesh, Shanmugam, Nam, Seunghoon, Kim, Haekyoung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alkaline medium; Dual co-catalyst; Electrocatalysts; Oxygen evolution reaction; α-Fe2O3/g-C3N4/Co3O4
• ISSN: 0360-3199
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.11.357

Creating an efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) by developing a low-cost, stable metal oxide nanocomposite based on earth-abundant materials is an essential and highly efficient method to meet the increasing demand for sustainable energy. For this reason, we have proposed a simple and effective interfacial engineering approach to construct a novel graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) strongly coupled with α-Fe2O3 and Co3O4 as dual co-catalysts for highly active electrocatalysts (ECs) OER in a typical alkaline electrolyte. The detailed structural, chemical, and morphological characterizations were performed by various analyses. The as-synthesized g-C3N4/Co3O4/α-Fe2O3 (GCFO) nanocomposite ECs exhibited efficient and stable OER performances with low overpotentials of 359 mV to attain a 10 mA/cm2 current density and a less Tafel slope of 116 mV dec−1, resulting in better durability after 14 h of the i-t test. A strong coupling interaction was found at the interface between the g-C3N4 and the α-Fe2O3/Co3O4 heterostructure, which acts as an effective electron transport channel and exposes more catalytically active sites to explore the outstanding performances for electrocatalysis OER. These results show that a novel approach for the rational coupling of composite heterostructures could be an alternative to using noble metals for sustainable energy-related applications. [Display omitted] •The efficient α-Fe2O3 coupled Co3O4/GCN heterostructure composite was synthesized.•GCFO catalyst exhibit low overpotential (359 mV) and small Tafel slope (116 mV/dec).•Enhanced OER cycling stability with better long-term durability for 14 h of i-t test.•Due to synergistic coupling interface among three components in the heterostructure.•Also reveals large surface area, fast electron transfer, and fast reaction kinetics.