Agricultural waste derived silicon carbide composite nanopowders as efficient coelectrocatalysts for water splitting

• Published in: Journal of cleaner production 2024-02, Vol.442, p.140890, Article 140890
• Main Authors: Nikitin, Dmitriy S., Shanenkov, Ivan I., Yeletsky, Petr M., Nassyrbayev, Artur, Tabakaev, Roman B., Shanenkova, Yuliya L., Ryskulov, Dastan N., Tsimmerman, Alexander I., Sivkov, Aleksandr A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural wastes; Electrocatalysis; Nanopowders; Oxidative carbonization; Plasma synthesis; Silicon carbide
• ISSN: 0959-6526
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.140890

Various silicon carbide nanostructures are attracting close attention due to their excellent performance and great potential, including utilization in a variety of catalytic applications. Approaches, utilizing different industrial wastes as a starting material for the synthesis of SiC nanoparticles, are especially distinguished due to their environmental friendliness. This paper demonstrates a new two-stage technique of the preparation of dispersed SiC/C nanocomposite. A highly mineralized carbonaceous residue obtained by thermal processing of agricultural waste was used as a precursor for the synthesis in a pulsed arc discharge plasma. Rice husks, oat husks and oat straw were chosen as agricultural wastes with a high content of silicon in the mineral component. Carbonaceous residues (biochars) were obtained from the selected wastes by oxidative carbonization in a reactor with a fluidized bed of a deep oxidation catalyst at 460 °C. High-energy (up to 20 kJ) treatment of the obtained biochars in a pulsed (up to 1 ms) arc discharge plasma jet resulted in synthesizing a nanodispersed material (particle size