Designed synthesis of hierarchical Mn3O4@SnO2/Co3O4 core-shell nanocomposite for efficient electrocatalytic water splitting

The hierarchical Mn3O4@SnO2/Co3O4 core-shell nanocomposite has been successfully synthesized via a facile structural construction strategy. The SnO2/Co3O4 nanosheets (SnO2/Co3O4 NSs) were enclosed on the surface of Mn3O4 nanorods (Mn3O4 NRs). The prepared materials were investigated as the catalyst toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance in alkaline. By contrast, the design of core-shell hierarchical nanocomposite of Mn3O4@SnO2/Co3O4 possesses the obvious electrocatalytic OER performance than others, showing the overpotential of approximately 420 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 with a low Tafel slope of 70.1 mV dec−1, in which the interesting structure can provide the interfacial and cooperative effect between core (hierarchical SnO2/Co3O4 NSs) and shell (1D Mn3O4 NRs) that 1D Mn3O4 NRs can act as an electron acceptor and accelerates electron transfer, and that hierarchical SnO2/Co3O4 NSs provide a large specific surface area and multiple exposed surface active sites between electrode material and electrolyte.