Catalytic enhancement of graphene oxide by trace molybdenum oxide nanoparticles doping: Optimized electrocatalyst for green hydrogen production

Abstract

Hydrogen is a clean and renewable energy source that is often regarded as a powerful alternative to traditional fossil fuels. The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are the critical stage in this technique, and an effective catalyst must be used to limit its significant overpotential. This report delves into the evaluation of MoO3/rGO-1000 as a cutting-edge electrocatalyst for green hydrogen production. The MoO3/rGO-1000 demonstrated exceptional HER stability and activity for 14 h, exhibiting an overpotential of 35 mV at a current density of 10 mAcm−2. Furthermore, the MoO3/rGO-1000, showed excellent OER activity having a lower overpotential of 213 mV at 10 mAcm−2. The enhanced results may be due to the synergistic effects, and by its inherent metallic conductivity and capacity to adsorb oxygen-containing molecules with high efficiency, MoO3 offers an abundance of active sites for water oxidation throughout the OER process. In the interim, rGO functions as a highly effective electron conductor, improving overall electrocatalytic activity by facilitating charge transfer. Thus, this study concludes that the introduction of MoO3 into graphene oxide significantly enhances the catalytic activities for hydrogen production.