Electrospun Hollow Carbon Nanofibers Decorated with CuCo[sub.2]O[sub.4] Nanowires for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

In recent years, spinel-type structural cobalt salts (NiCo[sub.2]O[sub.4], CuCo[sub.2]O[sub.4], etc.) have been widely used electrocatalysis because of their superior properties such as large crustal reserves, low cost, environmental friendliness, high electrochemical activity, abundant oxidation valence, and stable chemical properties. In this paper, hollow carbon nanofibers loaded CuCo[sub.2]O[sub.4] nanowires (CuCo[sub.2]O[sub.4]@CNFs) were prepared by electrospinning technique and solvothermal method. The CuCo[sub.2]O[sub.4]@CNFs exhibit enhances electrocatalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), requiring an overpotential of 273 mV in a 1.0 M KOH solution to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm[sup.−2]. In addition, the overpotential remained almost constant after 3000 cycles of voltammetry measurements. The enhanced electrocatalytic activity may be attributed to the unique one-dimensional hollow nanostructure of CNFs and high dispersion of CuCo[sub.2]O[sub.4] nanowires, which enhanced the charge transfer and improved the diffusion of the electrolyte ions at the surface.