Nickel Oxide/Carbon Nanotubes as Active Hybrid Material for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Carbon nanotubes are of great interest due to their high surface area and rich edge sites, which are favorable for wide applications. Here, a simple and efficient routine is presented by decoration of multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) with nickel oxide (NiO) nanoparticles.The morphologies of NiO-MWCNT  were  investigated  by  using scanning  electron  microscope  (SEM)  and energydispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). In alkaline media, the carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified with NiO-MWCNT catalyses oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with an onset potential of 0.61 V (vs. Ag|AgCl|KCl3M), showing a synergistic effect between MWCNT and NiO nanoparticles. After the long-termI-t measurement, high electrochemical stability confirms the improved electrocatalytic performance  of  NiO-MWCNT.  This  study  affords  us  a  NiO-MWCNT  based electrocatalyst  with high performance and strong durability under alkaline conditions, whichcan be applied to energy conversion and storage.