Synthesis and characterization of CuO–NiO nanocomposite: highly active electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction application

Design and development of highly active low-cost electrocatalyst for electrochemical water splitting is a current emergency for reducing energy demand in the future. In this study, we found a cost effective CuO–NiO nanocomposite which is prepared by a simple one-step chemical precipitation method. The crystalline structure, morphology, and constitution of elements in CuO–NiO nanocomposite were confirmed by XRD, Raman, FE-SEM, TEM, XPS, and FT-IR spectroscopy. The CuO–NiO nanocomposite exhibits lower onset potential of 1.37 V in 1 M KOH electrolyte solution by oxygen evolution reaction (OER), the finding onset potential is lower than that of bare Ni. The OER stability test of CuO–NiO nanocomposite was performed in alkaline electrolyte, and it showed more stability for 2 h.