Ag nanoparticle-decorated, ordered mesoporous silica as an efficient electrocatalyst for alkaline water oxidation reaction

Abstract

In recent years, several novel strategies for speeding up the slow kinetics of the water oxidation reaction have attracted considerable attention for generation of O₂. This is particularly important from the environmental perspective. Here we report a SBA-15 type, 2D-hexagonal functionalized mesoporous organosilica material as support for small Ag nanoparticles (NPs) by grafting the silica surface with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, followed by chemical impregnation of Ag NPs at its surface, to obtain a AgNPs@SBA-NH₂ material. The AgNPs@SBA-NH₂ has been thoroughly characterized using several instrumental tools, such as powder X-ray diffraction, ultra-high resolution transition electron microscopy, N₂ sorption, FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. High Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area and fine dispersion of Ag NPs throughout the surface of the amine-functionalized mesoporous material could enhance the rate of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity for AgNPs@SBA-NH₂ in the electrochemical water splitting reaction.