MoOx/CoMo on Cu nanowires as an efficiently bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting

Abstract

Electrocatalytic water splitting is a promising approach for sustainable hydrogen production. The design and development of efficient and stable bifunctional catalysts are the key to realizing hydrogen production from water splitting. Herein, we successfully synthesized bifunctional MoOx/CoMo grown on copper nanowires (Cu NWs) through an electrodeposition approach, showing excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performances. The MoOx/CoMo/Cu NWs catalyst exhibited overpotentials as low as 56 mV and 211 mV to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm‐2 for HER and OER in alkaline media, respectively. Moreover, the MoOx/CoMo/Cu NWs as bifunctional electrodes for overall water splitting achieved a low voltage of 1.45 and 1.62 V at 10 and 50 mA cm‐2, respectively, with a stability of 10 h at 50 mA cm‐2. This work provides a promising strategy for designing highly active catalysts that replace precious‐metal‐based catalysts on energy conversion.