High-value utilization of Cr-containing sludge: Eco-friendly and ultra-low-cost electrocatalyst for efficient OER in alkaline media from Cr-containing sludge

Qiangqiang Lu; Qingxin Han; Xuechuan Wang; Chao Wei; Xiaoyu Guan; Chun Qu; Ji Li

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119020

High-value utilization of Cr-containing sludge: Eco-friendly and ultra-low-cost electrocatalyst for efficient OER in alkaline media from Cr-containing sludge

J Environ Manage. 2023 Nov 15:346:119020. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119020. Epub 2023 Sep 19.

Authors

Qiangqiang Lu¹, Qingxin Han², Xuechuan Wang³, Chao Wei⁴, Xiaoyu Guan⁵, Chun Qu⁵, Ji Li⁶

Affiliations

¹ College of Bioresources Chemical and Materials Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi'an, 710021, Shaanxi, China; Institute of Biomass & Functional Materials, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi'an, 710021, Shaanxi, China.
² College of Bioresources Chemical and Materials Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi'an, 710021, Shaanxi, China; Institute of Biomass & Functional Materials, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi'an, 710021, Shaanxi, China. Electronic address: hanqingxin@sust.edu.cn.
³ Key Laboratory of Auxiliary Chemistry and Technology for Chemical Industry, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, 710021, China; Institute of Biomass & Functional Materials, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi'an, 710021, Shaanxi, China.
⁴ Institute of Biomass & Functional Materials, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi'an, 710021, Shaanxi, China.
⁵ College of Bioresources Chemical and Materials Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi'an, 710021, Shaanxi, China.
⁶ College of Bioresources Chemical and Materials Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi'an, 710021, Shaanxi, China; Institute of Biomass & Functional Materials, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi'an, 710021, Shaanxi, China. Electronic address: liji@sust.edu.cn.

PMID: 37734212
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119020

Abstract

Economically sustainable development requires more viable waste recycling solutions. In this context, we address the problem of utilizing chromium-containing sludge, a prevalent and environmentally hazardous waste. Meanwhile, sustainable energy development must develop ecology-friendly and low-cost electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. Herein, we report an ultra-low-cost electrocatalyst from chromium-containing sludge. The optimum preparation conditions are determined by optimizing the calcination temperature and the loading of nickel acetylacetonate. The optimized catalyst delivers excellent stability and outstanding OER activity with overpotentials of 320 mV at 10 mA cm^-2 in alkaline media. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the energy barrier of OER is decreased because of the catalyst's heterogeneous structure arrangement and confirm the influence of chromium on performance improvement. The concept of "turning waste into treasure" stimulates the search for methods to process Cr-containing waste and produce low-cost, high-performance electrocatalysts.

Keywords: Cr(2)O(3)/NiO heterostructures; Cr-containing sludge waste; Oxygen evolution reaction and electrocatalysis.