DFT and experimental studies of iron oxide-based nanocomposites for efficient electrocatalysis

Ola, Oluwafunmilola; Ullah, Habib; Chen, Yu; Thummavichai, Kunyapat; Wang, Nannan; Zhu, Yanqiu

Abstract

The synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles coated with graphitic carbon nitride (FeX-NC), and their improved electrochemical stability and corrosion resistance in acidic electrolyte environment are reported. Our results show that the FeX-NC nanocomposites exhibit enhanced activity and long-term stability for HER in 0.5 M H2SO4 aqueous solution, with an onset potential of 73 mV and Tafel slope of 69 mV dec-1. Furthermore, DFT calculations are carried out to represent our experimental system. Both theory and experiment strongly correlate with each other, where gC3N4@FeO has superior performance to the pristine gC3N4. It is found that the electrocatalytic activity of gC3N4@FeO arise from the electron transfer from FeO particles to the gC3N4 which form an electrostatic interaction, leading to a decreased local work function on the surface of gC3N4. The resulting graphitic carbon nitride shells prevented the direct contact between iron oxide nanoparticles and acidic electrolyte (H2SO4), so that the improved stabilities and corrosion resistance could be achieved. This work sheds light on new efficient and durable electrocatalysts for applications in acidic environments.

Citation

Ola, O., Ullah, H., Chen, Y., Thummavichai, K., Wang, N., & Zhu, Y. (2021). DFT and experimental studies of iron oxide-based nanocomposites for efficient electrocatalysis. Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 9(20), 6409-6417. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1tc01022k

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 5, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Apr 6, 2021
• Publication Date: May 28, 2021
• Deposit Date: Apr 12, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 7, 2022
• Journal: Journal of Materials Chemistry C
• Print ISSN: 2050-7526
• Electronic ISSN: 2050-7534
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 20
• Pages: 6409-6417
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d1tc01022k
• Keywords: Materials Chemistry; General Chemistry
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5462059
• Publisher URL: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2021/TC/D1TC01022K#!divAbstract