Fabrication and Characterization of CuO Nanostructures: Applications in Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Hydrogen which is a renewable and sustainable form of energy to replace fossil fuels has been has beenattracted great interest because of clean emission and high conversion efficiencies. To make waterelectrolyzer more profitable and economical, the selection of electrodes having low overpotentials, lowcost and stable with well electrocatalytic activity is required. In this study, CuO nanostructures werefabricated by chemical techniques. The morphologies and structures of CuO nanostructures were studiedin detail by FE-SEM, BET, and XRD. Three different morphologies of CuO (Nanorod, nanoflake andnano-flower nanostructures) were synthesized. The contact angle measurements were carried out to statethe surface properties of the synthesized materials. The cathodic polarization, open circuit potential-timemeasurements, impedance measurements and Mott-Schottky analysis were carried out in 1M KOHsolution to determine the electrocatalytic performance of electrodes in hydrogen formation reaction.Besides, energy consumption efficiencies of electrodes for alkaline electrolysis were investigated.

CuO Nanoyapıların Karakterizasyonu ve Üretimi: Elektrokatatlitik Hidrojen Üretimindeki Uygulamaları

Yenilenebilir ve sürdürülebilir bir enerji şekli olarak fosil yakıtların yerini alabilecek başlıca enerji kaynaklarından biri olan hidrojen, temiz emisyon ve yüksek dönüşüm verimliliği nedeniyle artan bir ilgi görmektedir. Suyun elektrolizi ile H2 üretimini daha verimli ve ekonomik hale getirmek için, elektrotların aşırı gerilimlerinin azaltılması ve aynı zamanda, iyi bir elektrokatalitik etkinliğe sahip ucuz ve kararlı elektrotların seçilmesini gerektirir. Bu çalışmada, CuO nanoyapılar, kimyasal teknikle sentezlenmiştir. CuO nanoyapıların morfolojileri ve yapıları, FE-SEM, BET ve XRD ile ayrıntılı olarak karakterize edilmiştir. Üç farklı morfolojiye sahip CuO nanoyapılar (Nanorod, nanoflake ve nano-çiçek) elde edilmiştir Elde edilen malzeme yüzeylerinin ıslanma davranışını belirlemek için temas açısı ölçümleri kullanılmıştır. Elektrotların hidrojen oluşum reaksiyonundaki elektrokatalitik etkinliği hakkında bilgi edinmek amacıyla katodik polarizasyon, açık devre-süre ölçümleri, impedans ölçümleri ve Mott-Schottky analizi 1M KOH çözeltisinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Ayrıca, alkalin elektroliz için elektrotların enerji tüketim verimlilikleri incelenmiştir.

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