Highly\nEfficient Nanoflower-like Bifunctional Electrocatalyst\nCo-W-B-P/CF for Overall Water Splitting

Abstract

Electrochemical\nwater splitting to produce clean hydrogen (H₂) and oxygen\n(O₂) has emerged as an advanced technology\nto build a sustainable society. Low-cost electrocatalysts with excellent\nperformance are required to improve the energy efficiency in overall\nwater splitting. Here, a Co-W-B-P/CF catalyst with a nanoflower-like\nstructure consisting of microspheres and nanoflakes was successfully\nsynthesized using a one-step double-pulse electrodeposition approach.\nWhen used as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting,\nCo-W-B-P/CF presented the potentials of 1.57 and 1.86 V at current\ndensities of 10 and 100 mA cm^–2 in 1.0 M KOH solution,\nrespectively. This was even comparable to that of the high-cost commercial\ncatalyst Pt/C(−)//IrO₂(+). Detailed electrochemical\ntests also showed that the kinetics, electron transfer, and intrinsic\nelectrocatalytic activity of Co-W-B-P/CF in the HER (hydrogen evolution\nreaction) and the OER (oxygen evolution reaction) were dramatically\nimproved due to the synergetic effect of co-doped B and P elements.\nConsidering the excellent electrocatalytic performance of Co-W-B-P/CF,\nalong with the simple synthesis method and low cost, bifunctional\nelectrocatalyst Co-W-B-P/CF for overall water splitting is promising.