Facile Preparation of SnO₂/CuO Nanocomposites as Electrocatalysts for Energy-Efficient Hybrid Water Electrolysis in the Presence of Ethanol

Currently, great importance has been assigned to designing cutting-edge materials for oxygen and hydrogen generation from hybrid water electrolysis as an ideal fuel alternative in energy-conversion devices. This work reports on the electrochemical organic molecule oxidation in alkaline media, intending to promote water electrolysis at early onset potential with more current densities using Sn-Cu oxidized heterostructures. The electrocatalysts were easily and rapidly synthesized by the microwave-heated synthesis process in the presence of a small quantity of ethylene glycol. The X-ray diffraction and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy analyses confirm the presence of CuO and SnO₂ phases, which significantly improves the electrochemical activity of the composite toward the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) in alkaline media in the presence of 1.0 mol L⁻¹ ethanol, yielding 8.0 mA cm⁻² at 1.6 V. The charge transfer resistance (R_ct) was determined using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and the result shows that the R_ct of SnO₂/CuO drastically decreased. The findings in this work highlight that the designed oxidized heterostructures with non-noble metals are promising candidates for energy conversion devices and sensors. Furthermore, this work confirms the advantages of using an assisted microwave heating process to develop an advanced SnO₂/CuO composite with the potential to be used in electro-oxidation processes.