An efficient and cost-effective tri-functional electrocatalyst based on cobalt ferrite embedded nitrogen doped carbon

Saad M Alshehri; Ameen N Alhabarah; Jahangeer Ahmed; Mu Naushad; Tansir Ahamad

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2017.12.020

An efficient and cost-effective tri-functional electrocatalyst based on cobalt ferrite embedded nitrogen doped carbon

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2018 Mar 15:514:1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2017.12.020. Epub 2017 Dec 6.

Authors

Saad M Alshehri¹, Ameen N Alhabarah², Jahangeer Ahmed², Mu Naushad², Tansir Ahamad³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: alshehri@ksu.edu.sa.
² Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: tahamed@ksu.edu.sa.

PMID: 29227801
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2017.12.020

Abstract

The development of efficient, cost-effective and long-lived electro-catalyst is necessary for the realization of practically viable water-splitting systems. A trifunctional electrocatalyst for water splitting (hydrogen evolution, oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reaction, HER/ORR/OER) was designed via eco-friendly and facial way. CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles embedded in nitrogen doped mesoporous carbon were prepared using chicken egg white/albumin after pyrolysis at different temperatures, 700, 800, 900 and 1000 °C. The specific surface area, pore size and the interaction between CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles and carbon matrix were tuned via pyrolysis temperature. The catalyst prepared at 900 °C, (N/CF-EC-900) exhibit superior catalytic activity as well as the superior stability than that other nanocomposites prepared and other commercial catalyst (Pt/C, RuO₂) for water splitting. Our findings emphasize the importance of CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles embedded in the carbon and suggest the catalytic activities with low onset potential, high current densities, small Tafel slope in basic medium.

Keywords: Albumin; Carbon; Electrocatalyst; Nanoparticles; Water splitting.