Phosphorus-Doped CuMn₂O₄ Nanoflakes: A Highly Performed Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction and Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in an Alkaline Environment

For hydrogen production, the greatest emphasis is on the development of economical and efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts. In the present work, P-doped CuMn₂O₄ on nickel foam (NF) is prepared. For the physical and structural analysis, XRD, FTIR, SEM, and BET techniques are performed. The optimized P_0.3-CuMn₂O₄/NF shows the best OER and HER activity compared to other concentrations and pristine CuMn₂O₄/NF. P_0.3-CuMn₂O₄/NF exhibits reduced OER and HER onset potentials of 1.4 and 0.095 V vs RHE, and overpotentials of 208 and 103 mV at 10 mA cm^-2, respectively. For P_0.3-CuMn₂O₄/NF, the kinetic study utilizing Tafel slope 32 and 44 mV dec^-1 suggests more rapid OER and HER processes, respectively. Furthermore, following phosphorus doping, the turnover frequency (TOF) study shows enhanced intrinsic OER (TOF = 2.3 s^-1 at η = 260 mV) and HER activity (TOF = 1.3 s^-1 at η = 260 mV). P_0.3-CuMn₂O₄/NF excellent OER and HER activities are supported by the double layer capacitance (C_dl = 92 mF cm^-2). Hence, P_0.3-CuMn₂O₄/NF is a potential electrocatalyst for both processes in an alkaline environment because of its improved OER and HER performance.