Flexible Co-Mo-N/Au Electrodes with a Hierarchical Nanoporous Architecture as Highly Efficient Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Yao, Rui-Qi; Shi, Hang; Wan, Wu-Bin; Wen, Zi; Lang, Xing-You; Jiang, Qing · Adv Mater · 2020

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Designing highly active and robust electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for many renewable energy storage and conversion devices. Here, self-supported monolithic hybrid electrodes that are composed of bimetallic cobalt-molybdenum nitride nanosheets vertically aligned on 3D and bicontinuous nanoporous gold (NP Au/CoMoN<sub>x</sub> ) are reported as highly efficient electrocatalysts to boost the sluggish reaction kinetics of water oxidation in alkaline media. By virtue of the constituent CoMoN<sub>x</sub> nanosheets having large accessible CoMoO<sub>x</sub> surface with remarkably enhanced electrocatalytic activity and the nanoporous Au skeleton facilitating electron transfer and mass transport, the NP Au/CoMoN<sub>x</sub> electrode exhibits superior OER electrocatalysis in 1 m KOH, with low onset overpotential (166 mV) and Tafel slope (46 mV dec<sup>-1</sup> ). It only takes a low overpotential of 370 mV to reach ultrahigh current density of 1156 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> , ≈140-fold higher than free CoMoN<sub>x</sub> nanosheets. The electrocatalytic performance makes it an attractive candidate as the OER catalyst in the water electrolysis.