Hydroelectric cell and hydrogen generation using magnesium-substituted cobalt ferrite nanomaterials

Hydroelectric cell and hydrogen are among the cleanest and most crucial energy sources for worldwide energy demands. Unleashing the hidden energy stored inside the most abundant resource on our planet can revolutionize the long-term solution to the current energy crisis. This work introduces a novel technique of spinel nanomaterial assisted electricity generation by splitting water molecules at room temperature without the need of any external energy stimulus. This has been achieved by controlling the oxygen vacancies and porosity of Mg2+ substituted spinel CoFe2O4 nanomaterials which facilitates the chemidissociation of water molecules for charge carrier generation. Interestingly, increasing the substitution concentration of Mg2+ in Co1-xMgxFe2O4, also increases the porosity and oxygen vacancy of the nanomaterials and the hydroelectric cell made from Co1xMgxFe2O4 nanomaterial with x = 0.3 achieve maximum electrical energy generation efficiency with power density of 58.28 mW/cm3. Furthermore, the synthesized nanomaterial also shows colossal electrocatalysis capability for hydrogen generation. Co0.8Mg0.2Fe2O4 nanomaterial shows the highest current density of -280 mA cm- 2 at the switching potential with the electrochemical hydrogen evolution with Faradaic efficiency of 93 %. This work provides an unprecedented technological breakthrough for self-sustainable energy source, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and advancing the shift to a low-carbon future.