Understanding the spatial configurations of Sm2O3 in NiO interfaces Embedded-Loaded for Electrocatalytic OER process

Synergistic effect of a bamboo-like Bi2S3 covered Sm2O3 nanocomposite (Bi2S3–Sm2O3) for enhanced alkaline OER

“…The peaks that appeared at around 464 and 546 cm −1 in the Sm 2 O 3 FTIR spectrum are characteristic of the stretching vibrations of the Sm–O bond. 22,47 The FTIR spectra of the Bi 2 S 3 –Sm 2 O 3 nanocomposite display all distinctive bands from pure Bi 2 S 3 and Sm 2 O 3 materials at 448, 497, 538, and 611 cm −1 with no additional peaks, which keenly evinces the formation of a physical interface between the two phases of the composite material, also shown in Fig. 2.…”

“…15–21 From this perspective, a rare earth metal oxide Sm 2 O 3 has attracted extensive attention to be used as an electrocatalyst for achieving outstanding OER activity owing to its multiple trivalent and divalent (Sm 2+ /Sm 3+ ) valence states, stability, and superior electronic properties with 4f orbital electrons. 22–24 Although Sm 2 O 3 is a broadly studied electrocatalyst, unlike other noble metal oxides, the electrocatalytic behavior of Sm 2 O 3 is not very impressive owing to its slow reaction kinetics caused by less charge separation and transportation efficiency. 25 The electrocatalytic performance of Sm 2 O 3 can be improved by decreasing the size of the catalyst to expose more active sites for the OER reaction, by regulating the morphology of the catalyst and introducing defects in the catalyst for achieving enhanced active sites, by increasing the adsorption of intermediates at the electrode surface, and by forming heterostructures to enhance the charge transportation.…”

“…Comparison with nanocomposites reported in research work retrieved from the literature survey, i.e. , SrTiO 3 /Bi 2 S 3 , 38 FeS 2 /Bi 2 S 3 , 39 Sm 2 O 3 –NiO-L, Sm 2 O 3 –NiO-E, 22 Sm 2 O 3 /Fe 2 O 3 , 40 and SmFe 1− x –Er x O 3 , 41 confirmed that the core–shell Bi 2 S 3 –Sm 2 O 3 heterostructured nanocomposite is a novel nanocomposite with remarkable OER activity. The superior and outstanding OER performance of the Bi 2 S 3 –Sm 2 O 3 nanocomposite is attributed to its unique morphological transformation.…”

Efficient adsorption‐photocatalysis activity of ternary ZnO‐Sm2O3‐MgO co‐modified biochar for dye removal

“…In contrast with fresh 2b‐ZnSm/Mg‐biochar (1043.51 and 1020.61 eV), the Zn 2p split peaks (Figure 4e) of used sample indexing as Zn 2p 3/2 and Zn 2p 1/2 migrated to 1020.86 and 1043.98 eV, respectively 36,38 . The XPS spectrum of Sm 3d (Figure 4f) was divided into four Gaussian curves, the main peaks pairs of V1 (1114.02 eV) and V2 (1083.02 eV) were attributed to Sm 3+ , and the weak peaks pairs of U1 (1110.18 eV) and U2 (1079.01 eV) were attributed to Sm 2+ , indicating the presence of oxygen vacancies of Sm 2 O 3 49,50 . The split Sm 2+ and Sm 3+ peaks of used sample indexing as Sm 3d 3/2 and Sm 3d 5/2 moved to 1110.64, 1080.12 eV and 1114.92, 1084.04 eV, respectively.…”

“…T A B L E 1 Compositions and surface parameters of ZnSm/Mg-biochar composites. U2 (1079.01 eV) were attributed to Sm 2+ , indicating the presence of oxygen vacancies of Sm 2 O 3 49,50. The split Sm 2+ and Sm 3+ peaks of used sample indexing as Sm 3d 3/2 and Sm 3d 5/2 moved to 1110.64, 1080.12 eV and 1114.92, 1084.04 eV, respectively.…”