Deep eutectic solvents assisted synthesis of AC-decorated NiO nanocomposites for hydrogen evolution reaction

The development of renewable and efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is energetic for clean and green hydrogen production. Herein, we prepared the nanocomposites of narthangai leaves-derived activated carbon decorated-NiO (NiO/AC) by using the deep eutectic solvents (DES) process. The prepared nanocomposites showed an aggregated structure of AC-decorated NiO nanoparticles with a high specific surface area (118.6 m²/g) and large porosity. When utilizing the NiO/AC nanocomposite as an HER catalyst, the catalyst showed an excellent HER electrocatalytic behavior i.e., low overpotential (385 mV), very lower Tafel slope (127 mV/dec), and long-term stability. These owing HER features are considered accrediting to the coactive properties of the material active surface of NiO nanoparticles and the high conductivity of the AC nanoflakes. The results suggested that the DES-supported synthesized NiO/AC nanocomposites could play a significant role in electrocatalytic performance for wastewater treatment.