Redox-mediated synthesis of Cu2O/CuO/Mn3O4/C quaternary nanocomposites as an efficient electrode material for oxygen reduction reaction and supercapacitor application

Abstract

Earth-abundant transition metal oxides (TMOs) hold significant promise as electroactive materials in various electrochemical energy conversion and storage applications, offering economic and environmental advantages over their less abundant counterparts. In this work, a simple and cost-effective redox-mediated reaction strategy under hydrothermal conditions has been adopted to synthesize the quaternary nanocomposites Cu₂O/CuO/Mn₃O₄/C with variable amounts of carbon. The synthesized nanocomposites have been characterized using various analysis techniques, including powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET). The synthesized COM5 nanocomposite (Cu₂O/CuO/Mn₃O₄/C-50), when used as an electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), demonstrates a good limiting current density (J_L), half-wave potential (E_1/2), and onset potential (E_onset) of −5.50 mA/cm², 0.75 V, and 0.95 V, respectively, as per the polarization curve. The COM5 nanocomposite exhibits a four-electron transfer mechanism, calculated using the Koutecky-Levich (K-L) equation. In an O₂-saturated 0.1M KOH solution, the COM5 nanocomposite has shown a superior relative current durability of 84.46% over 14,000 s compared to the commercially available 10 wt% Pt/C, indicating its potential application in the ORR. However, for supercapacitor applications, the COM3 nanocomposite (Cu₂O/CuO/Mn₃O₄/C-20) as active electrode material in galvanic charge-discharge (GCD) study shows superior performance (201 F/g at 1 A/g) compared to the COM2 nanocomposite (117 F/g at 1 A/g) in neutral aqueous electrolyte, possibly due to the lower charge transfer resistance (R_ct) of 24.04 Ω compared to COM2 (34.63 Ω). In two-electrode studies, the COM3 nanocomposite exhibits a good energy density of 24.19 Wh/kg at 1 A/g and a 4.7 kW/kg power density at 5 A/g. Additionally, the COM3 nanocomposite shows excellent long-term durability (74% capacitance retention) at the current density of 5 A/g for 8000 cycles. The electrochemical findings indicate that the COM3 nanocomposite stands out as a superior electrode material for supercapacitors, while the COM5 nanocomposite proves to be an effective electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction.