Three-dimensional nanoflower-like hierarchical array of multifunctional copper cobaltate electrode as efficient...

The study deals with the hydrothermal growth of a CuCo₂O₄ hierarchical 3D nanoflower-like array on carbon cloth (CuCo₂O₄@CC), which is a useful multifunctional electrode. The electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) study of the CuCo₂O₄@CC electrode shows high durability and good activity in 1 M KOH. As an energy storage electrode, it shows a high specific capacitance of 1438 Fg^-1 at 10 mA cm^-2 in a 3 M KOH electrolyte. The electrochemical stability of the CuCo₂O₄@CC electrode was tested for 5000 cycles at 10 mA cm^-2, and it showed 98.6% stability. This CuCo₂O₄@CC electrode produces a capacitance of 10 mA cm^-2 at an overpotential of 288 mV for the OER, with a Tafel slope of 64.2 mV dev^-1. The electrochemical stability measured at an overpotential of 292 mV for 12 h at 10 mA cm^-2 shows good electronic stability in an alkaline medium. The enhanced electrochemical performance of the CuCo₂O₄@CC electrode may be due to the Cu and Co counterparts in addition to the high surface area. The CuCo₂O₄@CC electrode is a simple, flexible, and cost-effectivive electrode in both electrocatalytic OER and energy storage applications.