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Inorganic nanocrystal-carbon composite derived from cross-linked gallic acid derivative of polyphosphazenes for the efficient oxygen evolution reaction

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Abstract

The development of heteroatoms doped inorganic nanocrystal-carbon composites (INCCs) has attained a great focus for energy applications (energy production and energy storage). A precise approach to fabricate the INCCs with homogenous distribution of the heteroatoms with an appropriate distribution of metal atoms remains a challenge for material scientists. Herein, we proposed a facile two-step route to synthesize INCC with doping of metal (α-Fe2O3) and non-metals (N, P, O) using hydrogel formed by treating hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HCCP) and 3, 4, 5-trihydroxy benzoic acid (Gallic acid). Metal oxide was doped using an extrinsic doping approach by varying its content and non-metallic doping by an intrinsic doping approach. We have fabricated four different samples (INCC-0.5%, INCC-1.0%, INCC-1.5%, and INCC-2.0%), which exhibit the uniform distribution of the N, P, O, and α-Fe2O3 in the carbon architecture. These composite materials were applied as anode material in water oxidation catalysis (WOC); INCC-1.5% electro-catalyst confirmed by cyclic voltammetry (CV) with a noticeable catholic peak 0.85 V vs RHE and maximal current density 1.5 mA.cm−2. It also delivers better methanol tolerance and elongated stability than RuO2; this superior performance was attributed due to the homogenous distribution of the α-Fe2O3 causing in promotion of adsorption of O2 initially and a greater surface area of 1352.8 m2/g with hierarchical pore size distribution resulting higher rate of ion transportation and mass-flux.

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Acknowledgements

This research work was fully funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) of China and the Chinese Government Scholarship (CSC) under (Project No. 51773010).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China

    Zahid Ali, Yasir Abbas, Wei Liu & Zhanpeng Wu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China

    M. Asim Mushtaq

  3. Department of Chemistry, The University of Lahore, 1-Km From Defense Road Lahore, Lahore, postal code 53700, Pakistan

    Zahid Ali

  4. Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Nanshan District, 1088 Xueyuan Blvd, Shenzhen, 518055, People’s Republic of China

    Yasir Abbas

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  1. Zahid Ali
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Ali, Z., Mushtaq, M.A., Abbas, Y. et al. Inorganic nanocrystal-carbon composite derived from cross-linked gallic acid derivative of polyphosphazenes for the efficient oxygen evolution reaction. Carbon Lett. 33, 737–749 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42823-022-00455-2

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