Effect of varying percentages of Co3O4 Nanoparticles on the Behavior of (ORR/OER) Bifunctional Co3O4/?-MnO2 Electrocatalyst

Among all types of batteries, Lithium Air Batteries (LAB) are con-sidered to be the most effective due to their highest energy density of around 11,140 Wh/kg but there are some major issues that are being faced by LAB such as large overpotential, poor cycle life, low current density, and decreased energy efficiency. The solution to these issues is primarily de-pendent on the proper selection of an electrocatalyst. A new approach for using a bi-functional electrocatalyst produced excellent results. Here, Co3O4/alpha- MnO2 composite has been considered as a bifunctional cata-lyst because cobalt oxide performed well in the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) process while manganese oxide performed well in the Oxygen Re-duction Reaction (ORR) process. A simple two-step hydrothermal process is used in this work to synthesize Co3O4/alpha- MnO2. This work focuses on the behavior of the composite electrocatalyst when varying percent-ages of Cobalt oxide (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) are deposited on the alpha-Manganese Oxide nanorods. The primary characteristics of each sample with different percentages of Cobalt Oxide are examined, and the perfor-mance of each sample is compared to one another. Several testing tech-niques like Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV), X -Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) are per-formed on the samples. The combination of cobalt oxide and manganese oxide showed a synergistic effect and work as a bifunctional electrocatalyst. As the percentage of Co3O4 deposited on the alpha-MnO2 nanorod increased, it behaves more like an OER electrocatalyst leading to a decrease in charging potential. This work will help in finding an optimum amount of Co3O4 that should be deposited on alpha - MnO2 nanorods to get an efficient (ORR/OER) bifunctional electrocatalyst.