Tunable Surfactant-Assisted WO3 Nanogranules as High-Performance Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Addressing the global energy demand requires the development of sustainable and highly efficient technologies for clean energy generation. One of the primary challenges in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is overcoming sluggish reaction kinetics, which requires the design of electrocatalysts with greater activity and long-term stability. In this study, a precipitation method was employed to synthesize polyethylene glycol (PEG) assisted tungsten oxide (WO₃) as an effective and stable electrocatalyst for OER. PEG was incorporated at varying concentrations (1%, 3%, and 5%) to modulate the structural and electrochemical characteristics of WO₃. Among the resulting composites, the sample with 3% PEG (PEG-WO₃-2) exhibited the most favorable catalytic behavior, achieving a low overpotential of 407.7 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 and a Tafel slope of 76.2 mV dec^-1 in 1 M KOH electrolyte. Furthermore, long-term electrochemical stability was evaluated over 5000 consecutive cycles, revealing minimal degradation in catalytic activity. The heightened performance is attributed to the optimized composition, improved electron transport properties, and the presence of a higher density of active sites, all of which contribute to the superior catalytic activity of the PEG-WO₃-2 electrocatalyst.