TY - JOUR
T1 - Sol-gel electrospun ZnMn2O4 nanofibers as bifunctional electrocatalysts for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions
AU - Shamitha, C.
AU - Shetty, Akshatha R.
AU - Hegde, A. Chitharanjan
AU - Anandhan, S.
N1 - Funding Information:
ShamithaCwould like to thank National Institute of Technology of Karnataka (NITK), India for a research fellowship. The authors thank MsURashmi for her valuable assistance in scanning electron microscopy.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd.
PY - 2019/11/6
Y1 - 2019/11/6
N2 - Electrochemical water-splitting has gained significant attention for the development of next generation fuels. The present work is an investigation on the electrocatalytic activity towards both Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) and Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) of ZnMn2O4 (ZMO) nanofabrics synthesized by sol-gel electrospinning followed by calcination (at 500, 600 and 700 °C). Poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) was used as the polymeric binder for the production of nanofabrics. The morphological features of ZMO nanofabrics were studied by scanning electron microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The electrocatalytic behavior of ZMO nanofabrics obtained at different calcination temperatures was evaluated using chrono-potentiometry, cyclic voltammetry, and linear sweep voltammetry in an alkaline medium (1 M KOH). The ZMO nanofabrics calcined at 500 °C exhibited the maximum electrocatalytic activity towards HER. This can be ascribed to their superior specific surface area (79.5 m2 g-1). The nanofabrics calcined at 700 °C displayed the least potential for O2 evolution and hence they are considered to be effective for OER. The results prove that ZMO nanofabrics are promising candidates as bifunctional electrocatalysts for water-splitting applications.
AB - Electrochemical water-splitting has gained significant attention for the development of next generation fuels. The present work is an investigation on the electrocatalytic activity towards both Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) and Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) of ZnMn2O4 (ZMO) nanofabrics synthesized by sol-gel electrospinning followed by calcination (at 500, 600 and 700 °C). Poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) was used as the polymeric binder for the production of nanofabrics. The morphological features of ZMO nanofabrics were studied by scanning electron microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The electrocatalytic behavior of ZMO nanofabrics obtained at different calcination temperatures was evaluated using chrono-potentiometry, cyclic voltammetry, and linear sweep voltammetry in an alkaline medium (1 M KOH). The ZMO nanofabrics calcined at 500 °C exhibited the maximum electrocatalytic activity towards HER. This can be ascribed to their superior specific surface area (79.5 m2 g-1). The nanofabrics calcined at 700 °C displayed the least potential for O2 evolution and hence they are considered to be effective for OER. The results prove that ZMO nanofabrics are promising candidates as bifunctional electrocatalysts for water-splitting applications.
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U2 - 10.1088/2053-1591/ab51aa
DO - 10.1088/2053-1591/ab51aa
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85075106876
SN - 2053-1591
VL - 6
JO - Materials Research Express
JF - Materials Research Express
IS - 11
M1 - 1150G7
ER -
