Atomic Pt-Promoted Hierarchical CoP@CNTs-Bridged CeO₂-CoP Heterostructure-Based Hollow Microcubes for Water...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science and Engineering
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Developing efficient electrocatalysts is crucial for sustainable energy technologies like water splitting.
• Existing catalysts often face challenges with activity, stability, and cost.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and synthesize novel electrocatalyst systems for efficient hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions.
• To investigate the synergistic effects of heterostructures, single-atom doping, and hierarchical architectures on catalytic performance.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of CoP nanoparticles within carbon nanotubes, bridged by CeO2-CoP heterostructures in nitrogen-doped hollow carbon nanocubes.
• Engineering the catalyst with platinum (Pt) single atoms.
• Electrochemical testing in alkaline media (1.0 M KOH) using two-electrode and electrolyzer stack configurations.

Main Results:

• The Pt-CoP@CNTs/CeO2-CoP@NCs catalyst achieved low cell voltages (1.52-1.53 V) for overall water splitting.
• Exhibited mass activity approximately 38.5 times higher than commercial Pt/C||RuO2.
• Anion exchange membrane electrolyzer stack demonstrated stable operation (>1400 h) with high efficiency at various current densities.
• Hierarchical structure with heterogeneous interfaces facilitated abundant active sites, conductivity, and optimized intermediate adsorption/desorption.

Conclusions:

• The developed electrocatalyst system offers a promising pathway for efficient and cost-effective water splitting.
• The synergistic integration of multiple components (CoP, CNTs, CeO2-CoP heterostructures, Pt single atoms, N-doped carbon) is key to achieving high catalytic activity and stability.
• This work contributes to the advancement of electrocatalysis for renewable energy applications.