Zn and Co Loaded Porous C Decorated Electrospun Nanofibers as Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction for Water Splitting

Developing a clean and efficient noble metal free electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is urgently needed to accelerate water splitting green energy conversion systems. Herein, we reported the fabrication of a noble metal-free electrocatalyst based on Zn and Co loaded porous C decorated cellulose acetate-polyaniline (ZnCo-C/CA-PANI) electrospun nanofibers at the surface of nickel foam (NF). The smooth coating of CA-PANI electrospun nanofibers at the surface of NF helps in exposing the maximum fraction of ZnCo-C based electrocatalyst and uniform flow of ions at the entire surface, thus resulting in high OH- adsorption capability. The designed ZnCo-C/CA-PANI@NF electrode acts as an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in an alkaline medium and offers a lower onset potential (1.34 V vs RHE), a small Tafel slope of 42 mV/dec, and high stability. These results suggest a concept of exploring more such noble metal free hybrid materials that could induce the efficient electrocatalytic water splitting for sustainable energy conversion.

Automated summary

In this study, a noble metal-free electrocatalyst based on Zn and Co loaded porous C decorated cellulose acetate-polyaniline (ZnCo-C/CA-PANI) electrospun nanofibers at the surface of nickel foam (NF) was fabricated. The smooth coating of CA-PANI electrospun nanofibers at the surface of NF helps to expose the maximum fraction of ZnCo-C based electrocatalyst and ensures uniform flow of ions, resulting in high OH- adsorption capability. The designed ZnCo-C/CA-PANI@NF electrode exhibits efficient electrocatalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with a lower onset potential, small Tafel slope, and high stability. These findings suggest the importance of exploring more noble metal-free hybrid materials for efficient electrocatalytic water splitting in sustainable energy conversion.