Facile synthesis of CuFe2O4 crystals efficient for water oxidation and H2O2 reduction

Synthesis of a robust and bifunctional catalyst with earth-abundant element efficient for electrocatalytic reduction and oxidation is crucial in electrocatalytic energy conversion and storage. Herein we show that a facile method to synthesize CuFe2O4 crystals with octahedral shape as a bifunctional catalyst efficient for water oxidation and H2O2 reduction. These as-obtained CuFe2O4 catalysts exhibited high-performance for water oxidation (2.2 times current density higher than that of commercial RuO2), lower Tafel slope (similar to 50 mV dec(-1)), larger anodic current density and much enhanced electrochemical durability. Besides, the resulted CuFe2O4 catalyst was also efficient for electrocatalytic H2O2 reduction, it shows 5-fold increment of current density in the presence of 5 mM H2O2, high sensitivity and much improved stability. The cost-effective synthesis route holds great promise for the controllable synthesis of nanostructured spinel, and is expected to show promising applications in the generation of renewable energy. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.