Fabrication of Bi-Functional Samarium Oxide/Copper Oxide Nanocuboid Electrocatalyst for Electrochemical Water Splitting

The development of low-cost, high-performance electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is essential for a vast array of chemical and energy transformation applications. Using non-platinum metals as electrocatalysts in a key process such as OER has become increasingly attractive given their relatively low cost, high electrocatalytic activity, and low environmental impact. Herein, to achieve a better catalytic material with high permeability and mass charge transfer in a catalytic framework, a novel, oxygen-defective Sm₂O₃/CuO nanohybrid with nanocuboid architecture is developed. The creation of a new composite material which consist of samarium oxide and copper oxide, demonstrates high effectiveness in the process of electrochemical water splitting. The combined use of samarium oxide and copper oxide improves the electrocatalytic performance, stability, and durability due to it synergistic effect. In alkaline media, the Sm₂O₃/CuO nanocomposite exhibits an astonishing overpotential of 248 mV along with a lower Tafel value of 46 mVdec⁻¹ for OER and nanocomposite also exhibits acceptable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance. Due to the unprecedented porous nanocuboid morphology and the strong synergistic effect between the two materials, the oxygen-defective Sm₂O₃/CuO composite exhibits impressive electrical properties and performs exceptionally well as an electrocatalyst for intrinsic water splitting. At an operational potential of 0.5 V, porous Sm₂O₃/CuO displays outstanding reactivity, Sm₂O₃/CuO exhibits remarkable results during electrochemical operation.