Chapter 6 - Ferrites for electrocatalytic water splitting applications

Abstract

Electrocatalysis is an effective way of production of hydrogen. However, the use of platinum as an electrode does not make it cost-effective, and therefore, there is a need of exploring a new material that shows catalytic performance equivalent to the platinum. Studies have been reflected that the ferrite is a promising material for electrocatalysis. Therefore, in this chapter, the use of ferrite as an electrode in the catalysis process is discussed. The effect of different parameters such as morphology of ferrite nanoparticles, surface area, and active sites are explained. Furthermore, the effect of graphene and graphene oxide (GO) as a conducting loading base is elaborated. Reduced ferrites loaded on GO have been proved to be more effective toward electron transfer mechanism at electrode. It is found that to understand the electron transfer rate and active surface area of ferrite, it is necessary to do electrochemical impedance studies and electrochemical double-layer studies. At the loading percentage of 20% that is equal to platinum loading, metal-substituted reduced ferrite loaded on GO is considered to be an effective alternative to the platinum in lowering the overpotential.