Electrodeposition of Pt-Decorated Ni(OH) ₂ /CeO ₂ Hybrid as Superior Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Water Splitting

Abstract

The facile synthesis of highly active and stable bifunctional electrocatalysts to catalyze water splitting is attractive but challenging. Herein, we report the electrodeposition of Pt-decorated Ni(OH)₂/CeO₂ (PNC) hybrid as an efficient and robust bifunctional electrocatalyst. The graphite-supported PNC catalyst delivers superior hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activities over the benchmark Pt/C and RuO₂, respectively. For overall water electrolysis, the PNC hybrid only requires a cell voltage of 1.45 V at 10 mA cm^-2 and sustains over 85 h at 1000 mA cm^-2. The remarkable HER/OER performances are attributed to the superhydrophilicity and multiple effects of PNC, in which Ni(OH)₂ and CeO₂ accelerate HER on Pt due to promoted water dissociation and strong electronic interaction, while the electron-pulling Ce cations facilitate the generation of high-valence Ni OER-active species. These results suggest the promising application of PNC for H₂ production from water electrolysis.