Abstract
The high performance electrocatalysts is vital for enhancing the hydrogen production efficiency for water splitting. In light of this, biomass activated carbon-decorated tungsten oxide (WO3/B-AC) nanocomposites are synthesized through a simple sonochemical method. The WO3/B-AC nanocomposites show an aggregated structure of activated carbon nanosheet-encapsulated tungsten oxide nanoflakes. The WO3/B-AC nanocomposites exhibit the overpotential of 320 mV at 10 mA/cm2 with the Tafel slope of ~48 mV/dec and good stability for the oxygen evolution reaction. For the hydrogen evolution reaction, the nanocomposites also show the overpotential of 360 mV at 10 mA/cm2 with the Tafel slope of ~14 mV/dec and excellent durability in 1 M KOH. The superior electrocatalytic activity of the WO3/B-AC nanocomposite electrode is attributed to the synergetic effect from both the high electrical conductivity of activated carbon nanosheets and the high electrochemically-active surface area of WO3 nanoflakes. These results advocate that the sonochemically synthesized WO3/B-AC nanocomposites hold promise as excellent electrocatalysts for green energy conversion and storage applications.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 145127 |
Journal | Applied Surface Science |
Volume | 508 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Apr 2020 |
Keywords
- Activated carbon
- Electrocatalysis
- Hydrogen evaluation reaction
- Oxygen evaluation reaction
- Tungsten oxide