Coumarin bearing asymmetrical zinc(II) phthalocyanine functionalized SWCNT hybrid nanomaterial: Synthesis, characterization and investigation of bifunctional electrocatalyst behavior for water splitting

•A novel ZnPc bearing three coumarin and one ethyloxy azido groups was synthesized.•A novel carbon nanomaterial bearing Coum-Pc groups was prepared via “Click” reaction.•The presence of Coum-Pc increased conductivity and electron transfer rate of SWCNT.•SWCNT-Coum-Pc can be used as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for water splitting. A novel asymmetrical zinc(II) phthalocyanine (Coum-Pc) bearing three 7-ethynyl-3-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl) coumarin and one ethyloxy azido groups was synthesized and characterized for the first time. This novel asymmetric Coum-Pc was covalently attached to single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) containing terminal ethynyl groups via the azide-alkyne Huisgen cycloaddition (Click) reaction for preparation of coumarin bearing zinc(II) phthalocyanine functionalized SWCNT hybrid nanomaterial (SWCNT-Coum-Pc). Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst for water splitting behavior of SWCNT-Coum-Pc hybrid nanomaterial were evaluated. The SWCNT-Coum-Pc hybrid reduced the onset potential required for HER by approximately 200 mV compared to SWCNT catalyst in acidic medium. The SWCNT-Coum-Pc catalyst reduced the HER overpotential of 570 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in alkaline medium. It also exhibited outstanding activity in OER, required only an overpotential of 330 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2. Heterogeneous rate constants of the electrodes from impedance analysis were used to calculate the value of charge transfer resistance and the conductivity of the composite film. The presence of Coum-Pc groups on the SWCNT surface increased for both the conductivity and electron transfer rate of the SWCNT. Therefore, SWCNT-Coum-Pc hybrid significantly improved the performance of OER and HER for water splitting. The present work provided a promising ground for the of SWCNT-Coum-Pc hybrid as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for water splitting.