Environment friendly hydrothermal synthesis of carbon–Co3O4 nanorods composite as an efficient catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

The design of cost-effective, highly active catalysts for hydrogen energy production is a vital element in the societal pursuit of sustainable energy. Water electrolysis is one of the most convenient processes to produce high purity hydrogen. Cobalt-based catalysts are well-known electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this article, all these merits indicate that the present cobalt nanocomposite is a promising electrocatalyst for OER. CCo3O4-nanorods catalyst with nanorod structure was synthesized by hydrothermal treatment of CoCl2.6H2O/dextrose/urea mixture at 180°C for 18h and then calcined at 400°C for 3.5h. The role of dextrose percentage in solution to achieve the uniform coating of carbon on the surface of Co3O4-nanorods has been demonstrated. The prepared materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller instrument (BET). Due to its unique morphology, the CCo3O4-nanorods catalyst exhibited better activity than Co3O4-microplates catalyst for OER in 1M KOH aqueous solution. The results showed a highly efficient, scalable, and low-cost method for developing highly active and stable OER electrocatalysts in alkaline solution.