SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MAGNESIUM COBALT OXIDE AND CHROMIUM COBALT OXIDE NANOPARTICLES ANCHORED ZnO SEMICONDUCTOR AND THEIR INVESTIGATION AS A CATALYST IN ELECTROCHEMICAL WATER SPLITTING

Date

2023-12-01

Author

NAS, Emine Ecem

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There is an increasing demand for inexpensive, efficient, safe, and sustainable energy due to rising environmental concerns over the extensive use of fossil fuels. Hydrogen, as an energy carrier, stands as an ideal substitute for fossil fuels and unstable energy sources like nuclear power. The water splitting offers an effective and environmentally friendly way of producing hydrogen. Specifically, the water oxidation half reaction is a critical yet slow and energy-intensive process, often resolved with the use of appropriate catalyst. Although Ru and Ir metals are considered very effective catalysts for these reactions, their cost and rarity pose limitations. Consequently, development of metal oxide based new catalyst for hydrogen production has become active research area. Hybrid materials of semiconductors (i.e. ZnO, TiO2) and bimetallic transition metal oxides (i.e. spinel) are very intriguing, particularly for photocatalytic applications. In this study, ZnO-MgCo2O4 and ZnO- CrCo2O4 hybrid nanocatalysts were synthesized for their potential utility in photochemical water splitting. Various characterization techniques, XRD, ESEM, EDX mapping, XPS, ICP-OES, TEM, and BET analysis were employed to analyze the synthesized nanoparticles. Furthermore, the electrocatalytic activities of the synthesized materials in water splitting were investigated. The synthesized nanomaterilas, P-ZnO/N-MgCo2O4 and P-ZnO/C-CrCo2O4, demonstrated OER catalytic performance with onset potentials of 1.68 V and 1.59 V (vs RHE), and overpotentials of 528 mV and 447 mV, respectively. The synthesized new catalysts show great promise for target application as the reported results are comparable to those of RuO2.

Subject Keywords

Electrocatalyst, Electrochemical Water Splitting, Metal Oxide Nanoparticles

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/107733

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Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis