The photoelectrochemically enhanced oxygen evolution reaction via thin films of novel (1:2:1) SnO-Mn2O3-TiO2 hybrid nanotubes

• Main Authors: Naeem, Rabia, Shakir, Sehar, Sharif, Shahzad, Afzal, Saba, Bashir, Shahid, Mansoor, Muhammad Adil
• Format: Article
• Published: Elsevier 2024
• Subjects: QC Physics; QD Chemistry
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/45638/; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfin.2024.104034

The oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions play a significant role in overall water splitting. The photoelectrochemical water splitting offers a high potential for conversion efficiency at low voltage and temperature. Therefore, in the present work comparative studies of novel (1:2:1)) SnO-Mn2O3-TiO2 (SMT) ternary and SnOMn2O3 (SM), SnO-TiO2 (ST) and Mn2O3-TiO2 (MT) binary mixed-metal oxides thin films for hydrogen generation are performed. method. The Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (AACVD) fabricated thin films were analyzed through X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS) and UV-visible spectroscopy to determine the crystallinity, surface morphology, binding energy, and band gaps. The Photoelectrochemical studies demonstrate that the SnO-Mn2O3-TiO2 (SMT) thin film yields 1.96, 2.37, and 2.7 times maximum current density than the binary SnO-Mn2O3 (SM), SnO-TiO2 (ST) and Mn2O3-TiO2 (MT) metal oxides, respectively. These results illustrate that due to unique topography, uniform distribution, and good optoelectronic properties of ternary SnO-Mn2O3-TiO2 (SMT) nanotubular layers show better light-harvesting performance as compared to the binary (SM, ST, and MT) metal oxides. Therefore, it is believed that SMT is a promising candidate for energy harvesting applications.