Directional editing of self-supported nanoarray electrode for adaptive paired-electrolysis

Abstract

Anodic oxidation assisted hydrogen production under mild conditions powered by renewable electricity represents a sustainable approach to energy conversion systems. Here, we fabricated a versatile and universal self-supported nanoarray platform that can be intelligently edited to achieve adaptive electrocatalysis for alcohol oxidation reactions and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The obtained self-supported nanoarray electrocatalysts exhibit excellent catalytic activity due to the integration of multiple merits of rich nanointerface-reconstruction and self-supported hierarchical structures. Particularly, the membrane-free pair-electrolysis system coupling HER and ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) required an applied voltage of only 1.25 V to drive the current density of 10 mA cm−2, which is about 510 mV lower than that of the overall water splitting, showing the capability to simultaneously produce H2 and formate with high Faradic efficiency and stability. This work demonstrates a catalytic self-supported nanoarray platform for energy-efficient production of high-purity H2 and value-added chemicals.