1-D arrays of porous Mn0.21Co2.79O4 nanoneedles with an enhanced electrocatalytic activity toward the oxygen evolution reaction.

Developing effective electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) that are highly efficient, abundantly available, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly is critical to improving the overall efficiency of water splitting and the large-scale development of water splitting technologies. We, herein, introduce a facile synthetic strategy for depositing the self-supported arrays of 1D-porous nanoneedles of a manganese cobalt oxide (Mn0.21Co2.79O4: MCO) thin film demonstrating an enhanced electrocatalytic activity for OER in an alkaline electrolyte. For this, an MCO film was synthesized via thermal treatment of a hydroxycarbonate film obtained from a hydrothermal route. The deposited films were characterized through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In contrast to a similar 1D-array of a pristine Co3O4 (CO) nanoneedle film, the MCO film exhibits a remarkably enhanced electrocatalytic performance in the OER with an 85 mV lower overpotential for the benchmark current density of 10 mA cm-2. In addition, the MCO film also demonstrates long-term electrochemical stability for the OER in 1.0 M KOH aqueous electrolyte.

Effect of pH of coating solution on the adhesion strength and corrosion resistance of hydroxyapatite and octacalcium phosphate coated WE43 alloy.

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) and octacalcium phosphate (OCP) layers were formed on Mg- 4mass% Y- 3mass% rare earth (WE43) alloy by a chemical solution deposition method at various pH values of pH 5.5, 6.2, 7.5, and 8.6. Adhesion strength of HAp and OCP layers was evaluated before and after immersing in a medium for 14 days by a pull-off test. The corrosion resistance of these coatings was measured by polarization tests performed in a simulated body fluid (SBF). XRD analysis demonstrated that HAp coating layers were formed at pH 7.5 and 8.6, while OCP coating layers were formed at pH 5.5 and 6.2. Adhesion test results showed that the as-coated pH7.5-HAp layer had the highest adhesion strength of 8.6 MPa, which was attributed to the very dense structure of the coating layer. The as-coated pH8.6-HAp layer showed the adhesion strength of 6.5 MPa. The adhesion strength of the as-coated pH5.5- and pH6.2-OCP layers was 3.9 and 7.1 MPa, respectively, that was governed by the thick and fragile property of the layers. After immersing in the medium for 14 days, the adhesion strength of pH7.5- and pH8.6-specimens decreased to 5.8 and 5.6 MPa, respectively. The pitting corrosion and formation of Mg(OH)2 under the HAp layers were responsible for the decrease of adhesion strength. The polarization tests in SBF at 37 °C showed that the corrosion current density decreased with the HAp and OCP coatings, indicating the improvement of the corrosion resistance of WE43 alloy. The HAp coatings improved the corrosion resistance more efficiently than the OCP coatings.