Synthetic disposable material derived-carbon supported NiO: Efficient hybrid electrocatalyst for water oxidation process

Abstract

Anchoring electrocatalyst nanoparticles on carbon materials is a promising strategy to establish a hybrid electrocatalyst with unique structure and properties. Deriving carbon support from waste materials is an environmentally green approach. In the present study, the pyrolysis of the heterogeneous mixture containing synthetic disposal material and nickel salt yields N-doped carbon fibers-supported nickel oxide (NiO@CFs) hybrid electrocatalyst. The NiO nanoparticles are well incorporated on the porous carbon base, which has densely packed sharp-edge carbon fibers (CFs). The unique carbon structure incorporated with the NiO nanoparticles that facilitates the adsorption of electrolyte ions, rushes the transfer of electrolyte ions, and thus enhances the electrochemical activity. The as-derived carbon support maximized the electrocatalyst active sites while utilizing low electrocatalyst mass loading. Specifically, the synthetic disposable material-derived-carbon fibers supported NiO (NiO@CFs) hybrid electrocatalyst exhibited remarkably higher surface area and lower charge transfer resistance when compared to that of bare NiO. Intriguingly, the NiO@CFs hybrid electrocatalyst exhibited desirable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance (η = 280 mV at 10 mA cm−2) and consistent durability for a 24 h continuous run. This study emphasizes that the utilization of synthetic disposal materials for deriving carbon support is an environmentally effective methodology to incorporate/hybridize electrochemically active materials for the various electrochemical applications.