Facile fabrication of CuScS₂/CoO as an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction and water treatment process

A major issue is the production of green and sustainable energy while the development of an effective, affordable, readily available with a higher rate of oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions is need of the time. Here in present work, we fabricated CuScS₂, CoO, and CuScS₂/CoO to replace the extremely expensive Pt/C and IrO₂ that are employed as the benchmark materials for water electrolysis. We have also investigated their electrochemical performance in an alkaline environment for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The CuScS₂/CoO nanocomposite is more effective electrode material than CuScS₂ and CoO. The composite material shows smaller overpotential (179 mV) and reduced Tafel slope (46 mV dec⁻¹) value than individual materials to attain a current density of 10 mA cm⁻². The better efficiency of the composite material is due to well-distinct good shape with greater BET surface area, and relatively small resistance to charge transfer. Furthermore, the CuScS₂/CoO exhibits remarkable electrocatalytic as well as photocatalytic performance in comparison to CuScS₂ and CoO. This research provides a valuable guide for developing an OER electrocatalyst in an alkaline medium and shows better electrochemical as well as photocatalytic performance of CuScS₂/CoO nanomaterials.