Amorphization activated RhPb nanflowers for energy-saving hydrogen production by hydrazine-assisted water electrolysis

Abstract

Utilizing the easy oxidation reaction of small molecules to replace sluggish oxygen evolution reaction shows high potential to lower the potential of water splitting for hydrogen production, which depends on identification of active catalysts. Herein, amorphous RhPb nanoflowers (a-RhPb NFs) are synthesized through one-step hydrothermal reaction, in which CO is derived from decomposition of formaldehyde as a reducing agent and structure directing agent. Benefiting from 3D nanoflower-like morphology, amorphous structure, and strong electronic interaction, the a-RhPb NFs show excellent catalytic performance for hydrogen evolution and hydrazine oxidation reactions, requiring overpotentials of −36 and 18 mV to achieve the current density of 10 mA cm−2, respectively. Inspiringly, when a-RhPb NFs serve as bifunctional electrocatalysts for hydrazine-assisted water splitting, low potentials of 0.095 and 0.321 mV are achieved at 10 and 100 mA cm−2, respectively. This study offers an attractive approach to synthesize amorphous bimetallic electrocatalysts towards efficient hydrogen production and beyond.