Heterometallic Polyoxotitanium Clusters as Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Overall Water Splitting

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Incorporating heterometals into titanium-oxygen clusters (TOCs) enhances catalytic activity.
• Developing efficient, earth-abundant electrocatalysts is crucial for sustainable energy technologies like water splitting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize novel heterometallic TOCs incorporating copper and cobalt.
• To investigate the electrocatalytic performance of these TOCs for full water splitting.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of three novel heterometallic TOCs: {TiCu} and {TiCo}.
• Deposition of {TiCu} and {TiCo} clusters on carbon cloth electrodes.
• Electrochemical evaluation for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER).

Main Results:

• The {TiCo}@CC electrode demonstrated low overpotentials of 120 mV for HER and 400 mV for OER at 10 mA cm⁻².
• Full water-splitting equipment using {TiCo}@CC achieved 10 mA cm⁻² at 1.67 V.
• Activities of TOCs were tunable by doping with different metal ions.

Conclusions:

• Noble metal-free TOCs are effective bifunctional electrocatalysts for water splitting.
• Heterometal doping offers a strategy to tune the catalytic activity of TOCs.
• These findings highlight the potential of cluster-based materials for clean hydrogen production.