Self-Supported Ru/P Dual-Doped CoMoO₄ Nanorod Arrays as a Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Overall Water Splitting

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Sustainable Energy

Background:

• Sustainable hydrogen production is vital for clean energy.
• Efficient electrocatalysts are needed for hydrogen evolution (HER) and oxygen evolution (OER) reactions.
• Seawater and alkaline environments present challenges for catalyst stability and performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for HER and OER.
• To enhance catalyst performance in both alkaline and seawater environments.
• To investigate the role of doping on catalyst properties and durability.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of Ru/P dual-doped self-supported cobalt molybdate (Ru/P-CoMoO4) nanorod array catalysts.
• Characterization of catalyst surface area, catalytic sites, and electronic structure.
• Density-functional theory (DFT) calculations to understand adsorption and poisoning resistance.
• Electrochemical testing for HER, OER, and overall water splitting (OWS) performance and durability.

Main Results:

• Ru/P-CoMoO4 exhibits large surface area and abundant catalytic sites.
• Co-doping optimizes electronic structure, enhancing electron transfer and kinetics.
• Catalyst shows superior HER (η10=29 mV) and OER (η100=308 mV) performance.
• Achieves OWS at 1.535 V (alkaline) and 1.581 V (seawater) with 200h durability at 100 mA cm-2.

Conclusions:

• The Ru/P-CoMoO4 catalyst is highly effective for sustainable hydrogen production in diverse aqueous environments.
• Optimized electronic structure and doping provide excellent activity and Cl- poisoning resistance.
• This work presents a viable strategy for large-scale green hydrogen generation using renewable energy sources.