Facile Preparation of SnO 2 /CuO Nanocomposites as Electrocatalysts for Energy-Efficient Hybrid Water Electrolysis in the Presence of Ethanol

Wilian Jesús Pech-Rodríguez, Héctor Manuel García-Lezama and Nihat Ege Sahin ()
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Wilian Jesús Pech-Rodríguez: Department of Mechatronics, Polytechnic University of Victoria, Ciudad Victoria 87138, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Héctor Manuel García-Lezama: Department of Mechatronics, Polytechnic University of Victoria, Ciudad Victoria 87138, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Nihat Ege Sahin: Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Aarhus University, Abogade 40, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-14

Abstract: Currently, great importance has been assigned to designing cutting-edge materials for oxygen and hydrogen generation from hybrid water electrolysis as an ideal fuel alternative in energy-conversion devices. This work reports on the electrochemical organic molecule oxidation in alkaline media, intending to promote water electrolysis at early onset potential with more current densities using Sn-Cu oxidized heterostructures. The electrocatalysts were easily and rapidly synthesized by the microwave-heated synthesis process in the presence of a small quantity of ethylene glycol. The X-ray diffraction and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy analyses confirm the presence of CuO and SnO 2 phases, which significantly improves the electrochemical activity of the composite toward the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) in alkaline media in the presence of 1.0 mol L −1 ethanol, yielding 8.0 mA cm −2 at 1.6 V. The charge transfer resistance (R ct ) was determined using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and the result shows that the R ct of SnO 2 /CuO drastically decreased. The findings in this work highlight that the designed oxidized heterostructures with non-noble metals are promising candidates for energy conversion devices and sensors. Furthermore, this work confirms the advantages of using an assisted microwave heating process to develop an advanced SnO 2 /CuO composite with the potential to be used in electro-oxidation processes.

Keywords: electrocatalysts; SnO 2 /CuO; assisted water electrolysis; facile synthesis; polyol method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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