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Mixed Valent, Distorted Cobalt Ludwigite (Co 3 BO 5 /Co 3 O 2 BO 3 ) and Its Composite with Reduced Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes (R‐MWCNT) in Enhancing the Domain Edge‐Sharing Oxygen as Superior Water Oxidation Electrocatalysts
Author(s) -
Kundu Sumana,
Malik Bibhudatta,
Pattanayak Deepak K.,
Pillai Vijayamohanan K.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
chemelectrochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.182
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 2196-0216
DOI - 10.1002/celc.201800389
Subject(s) - cobalt , carbon fibers , composite number , materials science , carbon monoxide , chemistry , metallurgy , catalysis , composite material , biochemistry
Herein, we report, a hybrid of mixed valent cobalt ludwigite (Co 3 BO 5 ) and reduced‐multiwalled carbon nanotubes (R‐MWCNTs) as an outstanding oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst. Interestingly, the composite acts as a potential OER electrocatalyst, displaying a low overpotential of 270 mV @10 mA cm −2 , which is lower than that for the state‐of‐the‐art RuO 2 catalyst. The remarkable OER performance of the cobalt‐ludwigite is attributed to its basic distorted open crystal structure, which has a relatively high crystal volume, owing to a domain network consisting of edge‐sharing octahedra. Moreover, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy clarifies the hybrid of cobalt‐ludwigite and R‐MWCNTs, exhibiting a stable π‐cation‐like interaction between the Co 3+ of Co 3 BO 5 rather than Co 2+ and neutral π‐ cloud of R‐MWCNTs, which helps in enhancing the conductivity of the system. Thus, the overall performance of the composite stems from the basic crystal structure of the Co 3 BO 5 and the existence of synergistic effects between the R‐MWCNTs on Co 3 BO 5 through π‐cation‐like interaction. Hence, the results of this study might be useful in developing more efficient other ludwigite–carbon OER electrocatalysts as affordable alternatives.