Nanograin Perovskite-Type Praseodymium Cobaltite as a Bifunctional Photoelectrocatalyst for Efficient pH-Universal Water Splitting and Water Detoxification Application

Addressing the crucial issues of organic water contaminants and the growing demand for sustainable energy sources necessitate the development of enduring and environmentally friendly solutions. Electrocatalytic water splitting and water purification have emerged as promising approaches to tackling these challenges. However, widespread adoption of these methods is hindered by the constrained efficiency and pH-dependent characteristics of numerous existing electrocatalysts. As a photoelectrocatalyst for water splitting that is efficient across a broad pH range and in water purification, we produced low-cost perovskite praseodymium cobaltite (PrCoO3) nanograins in this research. The structure, crystallinity, and production of the PrCoO3 nanograins were validated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy methods. After further testing in three distinct electrolytes, the PrCoO3 catalyst proved to be very effective for both the cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER), regardless of whether the reactions were conducted in the light or in the dark. Under light conditions, the PrCoO3/NF500 catalyst showed small Tafel slopes and low overpotentials for the OER and HER in 1 M potassium hydroxide (KOH), 0.1 M sulfuric acid (H2SO4), and 1 M phosphate buffer solution. It was also discovered that the PrCoO3 photocatalyst was very efficient in degrading 96% of Congo Red. In light of these results, the perovskite PrCoO3 may have considerable future use in photoelectrocatalytic processes.