https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06277-1
Regular Article
Electrode fabrication of BiFeO3/PANI nanohybrid by solvothermal process for efficient water splitting
1
Department of Chemistry, Ghazi University, 32200, DG Khan, Pakistan
2
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, 21944, Taif, Saudi Arabia
3
Department of Nuclear and Renewable Energy, Ural Federal University Named After the First President of Russia Boris Yeltsin, 620002, Ekaterinburg, Russia
4
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Renewable Energy, Technical Engineering College, The Islamic University, Najaf, Iraq
5
Centre for Research Impact & Outcome, Chitkara University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University, 140401, Rajpura, India
6
Electrical Engineering Department, GLA University, 281406, Mathura, India
7
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Marwadi University Research Center, Marwadi University, 360003, Rajkot, Gujarat, India
8
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, School of Sciences, JAIN (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, Karnatka, India
9
Department of Chemistry, Raghu Engineering College, 531162, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
10
Department of Applied Sciences-Chemistry, NIMS Institute of Engineering and Technology, NIMS University Rajasthan, Jaipur, India
Received:
13
December
2024
Accepted:
28
March
2025
Published online:
14
May
2025
The rapid depletion of fossil fuels has raised significant concerns in energy sector. The excessive usage of coal and gas for energy production is polluting our environment and ecosystem which is an alarming situation. Therefore, it is essential to explore renewable resources for energy production to overcome this problem. Water splitting is one of the promising sources of renewable energy production. In water electrolysis, catalysts play an important role; in present work, BiFeO3/PANI is used as an electrocatalyst for OER. BiFeO3/PANI composite is a remarkable electrocatalyst for water splitting because of its stability and high catalytic activity. BiFeO3/PANI was fabricated via solvothermal processes, and its structural, morphological, and functional groups were identified by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. SEM results showed that the BiFeO3/PANI composite’s surface morphology was flakes that dispersed more evenly across the aggregated nanosheets. The EDS investigation of BiFeO3/PANI showed that the sample contained C, N, O, Bi, and Fe. To verify the thermal stability, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the BiFeO3/PANI was carried out at temperatures ranging from 25 to 700 °C. TGA technique confirms the thermal stability of composite. The enhanced surface area and higher conductivity of the composite indicate its efficient OER performance. The synthesized materials were tested for their electrochemical performances in an alkaline medium (KOH), and nanocomposite BiFeO3/PANI showed exceptional OER capabilities, like less overpotential (278 mV). In addition to facilitating electron transport, the electrocatalyst achieves a low Tafel value (37.83 mV s−1) and exhibits extended durability even after 2500 cycles. These results showed nanocomposite BiFeO3/PANI is the best electrocatalyst for OER.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
