Facile synthesis of transition metal oxide SnO2/MnO2 hierarchical nanostructure: As an efficient electrocatalyst for robust oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

One of main areas of the current research into the electrochemical water oxidation mechanism for the production of clean energy is the production of less cost, more efficient, and protracted consistent electrocatalyst. For oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in a basic electrolyte, cost effective metal oxides based have proven more advantageous than other media. As their strong electrical characteristics and the promised synergistic result, the MnO2-based composites are the more appealing components for the water oxidation reaction among these transition metal oxides. This is because the materials' surface properties, will be drastically altered to support electrocatalysis. Herein, we report the synthesis of SnO2/MnO2 nanocomposite via a hydrothermal approach employed toward the OER process using Cu foam as a conductive substrate. The vertically aligned irregularly shaped nanocube tin oxide and nanosphere of manganese oxide are connected to create hierarchical nanostructures. The impact of bimetallic oxide for OER performance has been thoroughly investigated. For OER in alkaline atmosphere, SnO2/MnO2 nanocomposite confirms Tafel slope mechanism of 38.9 mV dec−1 and less overpotential (η) of 360 mV @ 10 mA cm−2. In order to enhance OER commotion, this effort validates the value of nanocrystalline catalysts with logically controlled hierarchical designs.