Enhanced electrochemical performance of ZrTe-Mn₂O₃ nanocomposite electrocatalyst for HER and OER in alkaline medium

Electrochemical energy conversion in renewable-energy technologies relies on the OER and HER towards next-generation fuels. Herein, we have coupled zirconia telluride (ZrTe) and manganese oxide (Mn₂O₃) nanosheets heterointerfaces by a facile hydrothermal method, which are engineered on stainless steel substrate (ZrTe-Mn₂O₃/SS). The physical properties, including crystallinity, phase purity, morphology, conductivity, and chemical interacted states of the developed composite, are systematically investigated by XRD, HRTEM, I-V, and XPS. The XPS observation showed unique redox properties of hydrogen peroxide species on the ZrTe-Mn₂O₃ catalyst and the oxidation state of Zr and Mn that was more easily changed in the ZrTe-Mn₂O₃ electrocatalyst compared with the pristine catalysts. The very decent electrochemical performance of the catalyst activation step (Mn³⁺→Mn⁴⁺ and Zr²⁺→Zr⁴⁺ oxidations) observed from electrochemical cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) studies that are tested in the alkaline environment. Concerning higher bifunctional activity for ZrTe-Mn₂O₃, the current density of 10 mA cm⁻² is revealed only at a lower overpotential of 244 mV and Tafel slope of 48 mV/dec toward better OER. At the same time, composite material also exhibited a minimal overpotential of 61 mV toward HER to attain 100 mA/cm². It was also found that introducing a connection of ZrTe with Mn₂O₃ improves the precise surface area and exposes more multi-active sites for easy transfer of electrons. In addition, it maintains excellent long-term stability for almost 110 hrs through chronoamperometry, which leads to no activity loss and further represents higher OER/HER activity in industrial applications. We conclusively demonstrate that the first-time reported research provides valuable insights attributed to the defective structure, porous nature, and covalently bridging between atomic-level heterogeneous interfaces, favouring rapid electron transfer process activation for continuously produced O₂ and H₂ gas bubbles.