Ilmenite-type NiTiO3 nanoparticles for oxygen evolution reaction

Perovskite materials are being studied extensively because of their unique and versatile properties and applications. The conductivity and electronic structure has attributed for their application in photo and electrocatalysis. Here, a smooth, facile, and self-propagating combustion method is used for the synthesis of NiTiO3 nanoparticles and evaluated as an efficient and economic catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for clean energy production. The designed catalyst was characterized by various spectro-analytical techniques as well as microscopic techniques. The X-ray diffraction profile of NiTiO3 nanoparticles portrayed the crystalline behavior of nanoparticles with an average crystallite size of 27.65 nm. The Transmission electron microscopic images exhibited the uniform distribution of NiTiO3 nanoparticles on the Ni-foam electrode surface. The catalyst supported on nickel foam exhibited better efficacy for catalyzing OER in 1.0 M KOH with a lower overpotential of 390 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2. The designed catalyst exhibited a lower Tafel slope value as well as better stability for OER. This study opens up the application of perovskite materials for water-splitting reactions. Schematics for the OER at NiTiO3