Co3O4-RuO2/Ti3C2Tx MXene Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Acidic and Alkaline Media.

Abstract

MXene 2D materials and non-noble transition metal oxide nanoparticles have been proposed as novel pH-universal platforms for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), owing to the enhancement of active site exposures and conductivity. Herein, Co3O4-RuO2 /Ti3C2Tx/carbon cloths (CRMC) were assembled in a facile way as an efficient OER platform through a hydrothermal process. The Co3O4-RuO2/Ti3C2Tx demonstrated prominent OER catalytic performance under acidic and alkaline conditions, which showed overpotential values of 195 and 247 mV at 10 mA cm-2 with Tafel slopes of 93 and 97 mVdec-1, respectively. The experimental results demonstrated that the electron transfer from Co3O4-RuO2 to Ti3C2Tx/carbon cloth played a remarkable role in promoting OER catalytic activity. Further OER characterization indicated that the enhanced multi-electron reaction kinetics are attributed to Co and Ru acting as the primary active places for O2 adsorption and activation, which facilitated the generation of *OOH intermediate.