CTAB Cationic Surfactant Assisted NiCO3 Electrocatalyst for Electrochemical Water Splitting Applications

Nowadays, researchers are focusing on the process of decarbonization for the approach of pollution-free environment. Nickel-based nanomaterials have been widely explored to employ in electrochemical water splitting applications due to its excellent electrochemical properties. Herein, nickel carbonate was produced employing co-precipitation technique with addition of surfactant such as cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). XRD pattern confirmed NiCO3 rhombohedral phase formation. Morphology of the NiCO3 nanostructures was investigated using the SEM images. Electrochemical behavior of prepared samples was thoroughly examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and chronoamperometry (CA). LSV test exhibited excellent OER performance with minimum overpotential (354 mV) and high current density of NiCO3@0.2 M CTAB. The CA test confirmed the good electrochemical stability with unchanged current density over 16 h. Therefore, the surfactant of cetyl trimethylammonium bromide plays a crucial role to enhance the OER activity.