Preparation of Organo-Stabilized Mn3O4 Nanostructures as an Electro-Catalyst for Clean Energy Generation

Current investigations report the efficient sustainable biomimetic synthesis of manganese oxide nano-particles (Mn3O4 NPs) by the aid of green capping and stabilizing agents using an aqueous leaf extract of Olea ferruginea Royle (Oleaceae). The phyto-functionalized NPs have been characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to confirm the capping of the NPs by this propanedioic organic compound which is an active anti-oxidant derivative of carboxylic acid. Elemental and morphological investigation revealed the formation of pure Mn3O4NPs with spherical aggregates of app. 500 nm at higher magnification. Synthesized nano-scaled particles have been scrutinized at electrochemical workstation to study the electrochemical behavior for water splitting studies. For this, the prepared NPs were fabricated on Ni-foam and tested for linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and chronoamperometry for exploration of oxygen evolution and hydrogen evolution reactions in presence of 1M KOH electrolyte. The material showed good electrochemical potential towards OER with lower Tafel value and overpotential as compared to HER. The present study is a step towards cleaner energy fuel by the use of greener and sustainable synthesis approach.