Facile doping of nickel into Co3O4 nanostructures to make them efficient for catalyzing the oxygen evolution reaction

Designing a facile and low-cost methodology to fabricate earth-abundant catalysts is very much needed for a wide range of applications. Herein, a simple and straightforward approach was developed to tune the electronic properties of cobalt oxide nanostructures by doping them with nickel and then using them to catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in an aqueous solution of 1.0 M KOH. The addition of a nickel impurity improved the conductivity of the cobalt oxide, and further increased its activity towards the OER. Analytical techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to investigate, respectively, the morphology, composition and crystalline structure of the materials used. The nickel-doped cobalt oxide material showed randomly oriented nanowires and a high density of nanoparticles, exhibited the cubic phase, and contained cobalt, nickel and oxygen as its main elements. The nickel-doped cobalt oxide also yielded a Tafel slope of 82 mV dec(-1) and required an overpotential of 300 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm(-2). As an OER catalyst, it was shown to be durable for 40 h. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis showed a low charge-transfer resistance of 177.5 ohms for the nickel-doped cobalt oxide, which provided a further example of its excellent OER performance. These results taken together indicated that nickel doping of cobalt oxide can be accomplished via a facile approach and that the product of this doping can be used for energy and environmental applications

An efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst based on a nickel iron layered double hydroxide functionalized Co3O4 core shell structure in alkaline media

Developing highly active nonprecious metal and binder free bifunctional electrocatalysts for water splitting is a challenging task. In this study, we used a simple strategy to deposit a nickel iron layered double hydroxide (NiFeLDH) onto cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanowires. The cobalt oxide nanowires are covered with thin nanosheets of NiFeLDH forming a core shell structure. The Co3O4 nanowires contain the mixed oxidation states of Co2+ and Co3+, and the surface modification of Co3O4 nanowires has shown synergetic effects due to there being more oxygen defects, catalytic sites, and enhanced electronic conductivity. Further, the core shell structure of Co3O4 nanowires demonstrated a bifunctional activity for water splitting in 1 M KOH aqueous solution. From the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), a current density of 10 mA cm - 2 is achieved at a potential of - 0.303 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). Meanwhile for the case of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a current density of 40 mA cm - 2 is measured at a potential of 1.49 V vs. RHE. Also, this electrocatalyst has shown a considerable long- term stability of 15 h for both the HER and the OER. Importantly, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy has shown that the NiFeLDH integration onto cobalt oxide exhibited around 3 fold decrease of charge transfer resistance for both the HER and the OER in comparison with pristine cobalt oxide films, which reveals an excellent electrocatalytic activity for both faradaic processes. All these results confirm that the proposed electrocatalyst can be integrated into an efficient water splitting system

Tartaric acid assisted in-situ growth of CuO nanostructures over ITO substrate for the electrocatalytic detection of Sudan I

The study explores the potential of newly developed ITO based electrode for the electro-catalytic detection of Sudan I. The ITO based electrode utilizes a dense layer of 2D CuO nanostructures as an effective electron-transfer facilitator which promotes the electro-catalytic sensing of Sudan I in aqueous solution. The in-situ growth of CuO nanostructures was achieved using simple hydrothermal route with the assistance of tartaric acid utilized as an effective template. The in-situ grown layer comprises of 2D CuO nanostructures with morphological features similar to flowers composed of sharp-flake like features. The electro-catalytic oxidation of Sudan I over the described electrode system demonstrated low-over potential value and excellent working stability with good analytical linearity in the range of 0.001-1.56 mu M. The ITO based electrode was found highly selective and sensitive towards Sudan I with limit of detection determined to be 1.2 x 10(-4) mu M (S/N = 3)

Facile efficient earth abundant NiO/C composite electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c8ra10472g

Due to the increasing energy consumption, designing efficient electrocatalysts for electrochemical water splitting is highly demanded. In this study, we provide a facile approach for the design and fabrication of efficient and stable electrocatalysts through wet chemical methods. The carbon material, obtained by the dehydration of sucrose sugar, provides high surface area for the deposition of NiO nanostructures and the resulting NiO/C catalysts show higher activity towards the OER in alkaline media. During the OER, a composite of NiO with 200 mg C can produce current densities of 10 and 20 mA cm(-2) at a bias of 1.45 V and 1.47 V vs. RHE, respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy experiments showed the lowest charge transfer resistance and the highest double layer capacitance in the case of the NiO/C composite with 200 mg C. The presence of C for the deposition of NiO nanostructures increases the active centers and consequently a robust electrocatalytic activity is achieved. The obtained results in terms of the low overpotential and small Tafel slope of 55 mV dec(-1) for non-precious catalysts are clear indications for the significant advancement in the field of electrocatalyst design for water splitting. This composite material based on NiO/C is simple and scalable for widespread use in various applications, especially in supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries.Funding Agencies|Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) [SFRH/BPD/97453/2013]</p

Functionalised CuO nanostructures for the detection of organophosphorus pesticides: A non-enzymatic inhibition approach coupled with nano-scale electrode engineering to improve electrode sensitivity

This study explores the potential of a newly-developed indium tin oxide (ITO) based electrode for the development of an electro-catalytic inhibition sensor system for organophosphorus pesticides. The sensor relies on the redox signal inhibition of pralidoxime chloride (PAM) immobilised over the pimelic acid functionalised CuO nanostructures grown in-situ over an ITO substrate. The in-situ growth enabled on-pot modification and functionalisation of ITO electrodes with the formation of uniform nanostructures possessing high surface area and excellent interface contact. The versatility of the proposed electrode was evident from its excellent electrochemical characteristics evaluated in comparison to bare and slurry-driven glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs). The high structural uniformity and greater surface coverage achieved by in-situ growth provided a uniform surface environment for electrode-analyte interaction, leading to good inhibition signal sensitivity and repeatability. The developed sensor was successful in detecting chlorpyrifos, fenthion and methyl parathion within the concentration range of 0.01-0.16 mu M with signal sensitivity reaching down to 1.6 x 10(-9), 2.5 x 10(-9) and 6.7 x 10(-9) M respectively. Moreover, the proposed sensor demonstrated excellent applicability when tested for chlorpyrifos from vegetable extracts using a standard addition method. (c) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

An advanced and efficient Co3O4/C nanocomposite for the oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline media

The design of efficient nonprecious catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) or the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a necessary, but very challenging task to uplift the water-based economy. In this study, we developed a facile approach to produce porous carbon from the dehydration of sucrose and use it for the preparation of nanocomposites with cobalt oxide (Co3O4). The nanocomposites were studied by the powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy techniques, and they exhibited the cubic phase of cobalt oxide and porous structure of carbon. The nanocomposites showed significant OER activity in alkaline media, and the current densities of 10 and 20 mA cm(-2) could be obtained at 1.49 and 1.51 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), respectively. The impedance study confirms favorable OER activity on the surface of the prepared nanocomposites. The nanocomposite is cost-effective and can be capitalized in various energy storage technologies