Tailored engineering of zinc carbide triggered by N‐enriched carbon nanotubes for prospective water splitting

Abstract

AbstractFor practical H2 generation, it is currently difficult to create modules for electrochemical water splitting that are efficient and inexpensive over a broad pH range. In this study, a novel ZnC8@NCNT electrocatalyst is fabricated via simple pyrolysis of melamine with zinc chloride and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The self‐assembled hybrid material was examined to catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in an alkaline pH range, and the ZnC8@NCNT responds with a lower OER overpotential of 245 mV, and smaller Tafel slope of 50.0 mV dec−1 with the turnover frequency (TOF) of 0.67 s−1 due to its unique structure. The HER response of the generated material is quite satisfactory with an overpotential of 223 mV and a Tafel value of 107 mV dec−1. The fabricated material supported by conductive CNTs increases the catalytic reactivity due to the synergistic manner, which is superior in performance as a cutting‐edge catalyst for water electrolysis in an electrolytic cell. Furthermore, ZnC8@NCNT establishes as a cost‐effective alternative to expensive Ir, Pt, Pd, and Ru‐based catalysts.