Effect of carbon infusion on water splitting performance of (Ni0.2 Co0.2 Cr0.2 Mn0.2 V0.2)3O4 high entropy oxides nanoparticle synthesized via thermal plasma

Abstract

A high entropy oxides (HEOs) has been proposed as a promising electrocatalyst for electrochemical water splitting reaction owing to their distinctive catalytic activity, stability, and tuneable electronic structure. In this work, a carbon infused HEOs (Ni_0.2 Co_0.2 Cr_0.2 Mn_0.2 V_0.2)₃O₄ nanoparticles were synthesized via a single step process through a carbonaceous thermal plasma (Ar-CO₂CH₄) medium. Here, carbon infused HEOs were utilized as an electrocatalyst for water splitting reaction in 1 M KOH electrolyte. A Carbon rich HEOs (HEO C6) nanoparticle exhibits excellent oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance with an overpotential of 243 and 217 mV to attain a current density of 50 mA cm^-2, respectively. The fabricated two-electrode device requires only a 1.596 V as cell voltage to meet a current density of 10 mA cm^-2. This study provides a new platform for a large-scale hydrogen production by utilizing carbon supported HEOs as an electrocatalyst.