Facile Preparation of SnO2/CuO Nanocomposites as Electrocatalysts for Energy-Efficient Hybrid Water Electrolysis in the Presence of Ethanol

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 SnO2 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 (Rct) was determined using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and the result shows that the Rct of SnO2/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 SnO2/CuO composite with the potential to be used in electro-oxidation processes.