Solar enhanced oxygen evolution reaction with transition metal telluride

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Renewable Energy

Background:

• Photo-enhanced electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for clean energy generation via water splitting.
• Current photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) water splitting methods suffer from low efficiency due to charge carrier recombination, high overpotential, and sluggish kinetics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a highly effective photo-coupled electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (POER) catalyst.
• To investigate the potential of Nickel telluride (NiTe) for enhancing PEC water splitting efficiency.

Main Methods:

• Nickel telluride (NiTe) was synthesized using a hydrothermal method at 145°C for one hour.
• The NiTe catalyst was deposited on a carbon cloth substrate for electrochemical and photoelectrochemical testing.
• Density Functional Theory (DFT) was employed to investigate the catalytic mechanism on the NiTe surface.

Main Results:

• NiTe exhibited a low OER overpotential (261 mV at 10 mA cm⁻²) and a reduced Tafel slope (65.4 mV dec⁻¹) in dark conditions.
• Under simulated solar illumination, NiTe showed significantly enhanced performance with an overpotential of 165 mV at 10 mA cm⁻², a reduction of 96 mV.
• DFT calculations revealed favorable -OH adsorption and charge density redistribution on the NiTe surface, indicating facile catalytic activity.

Conclusions:

• Hydrothermally synthesized NiTe is a highly effective catalyst for both electrochemical and photoelectrocatalytic oxygen evolution.
• NiTe demonstrates excellent light harvesting, charge separation, and interfacial kinetics, making it a promising material for efficient PEC water splitting.
• The study provides valuable insights for designing advanced PEC devices for sustainable energy production.