Co(OH)2 Nanoflowers Decorated α-NiMoO4 Nanowires as a Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Efficient Overall Water Splitting

Abstract

The development of bifunctional electrocatalysts with high catalytic activity and cyclic stability is an effective method for electrocatalytic water splitting. Herein, a promising hydroxide/oxide Co(OH)2/α-NiMoO4 NWs/CC heterostructure with nanoflowers decorating the nanowires was fabricated on a carbon cloth (CC) substrate via hydrothermal and calcination methods. In contrast to one-dimensional nanomaterials, the interfaces of Co(OH)2 nanoflowers and α-NiMoO4 nanowires on CC provide more active sites for electrocatalytic reactions; therefore, they exhibit obviously enhanced electrocatalytic activities in overall water splitting. Specifically, the Co(OH)2/α-NiMoO4 NWs/CC electrodes exhibit an overpotential of 183.01 mV for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and of 170.26 mV for oxygen evolution reactions (OER) at the current density of 10 mA cm−2 in 1.0 M KOH. Moreover, the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity of the Co(OH)2/α-NiMoO4 NWs/CC electrocatalyst was enhanced after long-term stability tests.