Abstract
Copper cobalt oxide nanoparticles (CCO NPs) were synthesized as an oxygen evolution electrocatalyst via a simple co-precipitation method, with the composition being controlled by altering the precursor ratio to 1:1, 1:2, and 1:3 (Cu:Co) to investigate the effects of composition changes. The effect of the ratio of Cu2+/Co3+ and the degree of oxidation during the co-precipitation and annealing steps on the crystal structure, morphology, and electrocatalytic properties of the produced CCO NPs were studied. The CCO1:2 electrode exhibited an outstanding performance and high stability owing to the suitable electrochemical kinetics, which was provided by the presence of sufficient Co3+ as active sites for oxygen evolution and the uniform sizes of the NPs in the half cell. Furthermore, single cell tests were performed to confirm the possibility of using the synthesized electrocatalyst in a practical water splitting system. The CCO1:2 electrocatalyst was used as an anode to develop an anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEMWE) cell. The full cell showed stable hydrogen production for 100 h with an energetic efficiency of >71%. In addition, it was possible to mass produce the uniform, highly active electrocatalyst for such applications through the co-precipitation method.
Highlights
Due to climate change caused by the use of fossil fuels and the acceleration of industrialization, a shift in the global energy paradigm is necessary
Major methods of water electrolysis are alkaline water electrolysis (AWE), which is based on liquid electrolytes, and proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE), which is based on solid electrolytes
For all electrocatalysts that were synthesized with various precursor ratios, the main (311) peak was observed at 36.62◦, and the same 2θ values were identified for planes (111), (220), (222), (422), (540), and (533) (Chi et al, 2008)
Summary
Due to climate change caused by the use of fossil fuels and the acceleration of industrialization, a shift in the global energy paradigm is necessary. Major methods of water electrolysis are alkaline water electrolysis (AWE), which is based on liquid electrolytes, and proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE), which is based on solid electrolytes The former is a commercialized system that can use a nonprecious catalyst and is cost effective due to its operation in an alkaline atmosphere. AEMWE can use inexpensive non-precious catalysts for operation in alkaline solutions such as KOH, yields high purity hydrogen via the use of a solid electrolyte membrane, and can operate at high pressures, which can reduce the unit cost of production and increase efficiency. We synthesized CCO through a coprecipitation method that allows for simple mass production with highly active non-precious metal electrocatalysts. The physiochemical and structural electrochemical properties of these catalysts were studied as the ratio of precursors used for the coprecipitation was changed, and the applicability of the actual system was confirmed by both developing the electrocatalysts and applying it to water electrolysis single cells. Electrochemical analysis was performed at a fixed cell temperature of 50◦C
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