Stabilization of cobalt clusters with graphdiyne enabling efficient overall water splitting

Abstract

Abstract Metal clusters have emerged as one of the most important electrocatalysts and have attracted widespread research attentions recently. However, metal clusters electrocatalyst seriously suffers from stability issue. Unfortunately, how to stabilize these highly reactive metal clusters remains challenging for the whole community. Here, a brand new strategy to stabilize metal cluster by regulating its surface electronic perturbation intensity is proposed and the case Co clusters can be stabilized by adopting electron-rich Graphdiyne (GDY) nanoarray as the supporting matrix (Cu@GDY-Co) is reported. The strong electronic perturbation that originates from GDY would effectively stabilize Co clusters, and further lead to excellent electrocatalytic activity for both hydrogen and oxygen evolution. The resulting catalytic performance is comparable to the state-of-the-art non-noble metal catalyst for overall water splitting. The innovation herein paves the way for stabilization of highly efficient metal clusters electrocatalyst in the future.