Facile synthesis of transition metal-selenides@CNTs for electrochemical oxygen evolution reactions

The fabrication of carbon-based efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen production during electrochemical water splitting could be a great achievement to fulfill the future renewable energy demand. In this study, one-step hydrothermal process was used to develop composites of multi-metal selenides with carbon nanotubes (MnSe@CNTs, MnCuSe@CNTs, MnCoNiSe@CNTs) as electrocatalysts for OER during electrolytic water splitting. XRD and SEM with EDS analysis confirm the successful fabrication of the proposed catalyst and its crystalline morphology. Among the synthesized functionalized CNTs composites, bimetallic selenide composite gives a better electrocatalytic activity with reduced overpotential, lower Tafel slope and reduced charge transfer resistance in 1 M KOH. By using the catalyst(MnCuSe@CNTs) water oxidation starts at 1.4 V onset potential with a very low overpotential of 245 mV and the Tafel slope was only 107 mV dec⁻¹. Metal-based selenides composites with CNTs introduce a lot of active sites, and subsequently nanoparticles of MnSe, MnCuSe, & MnCoNiSe, causes to boost the surface area and electrocatalysis toward oxygen evolution reactions.