Mo‐/Co‐N‐C Hybrid Nanosheets Oriented on Hierarchical Nanoporous Cu as Versatile Electrocatalysts for Efficient Water Splitting

Abstract

Abstract Designing robust and cost‐effective electrocatalysts based on Earth‐abundant elements is crucial for large‐scale hydrogen production through electrochemical water splitting. Here, nitrogen‐doped carbon engrafted Mo 2 N/CoN hybrid nanosheets that are seamlessly oriented on hierarchical nanoporous Cu scaffold (Mo‐/Co‐N‐C/Cu), as highly efficient electrocatalysts for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction are reported. The constituent heterostructured Mo 2 N/CoN nanosheets work as bifunctional electroactive sites for both water dissociation and adsorption/desorption of hydrogen intermediates while the nitrogen‐doped carbon bridges electron transfers between electroactive sites and interconnective Cu current collectors by making use of Mo‐/Co‐N‐C bonds and intimate C/Cu contacts at interfaces. As a consequence of unique architecture having electroactive sites to be sufficiently accessible, self‐supported nanoporous Mo‐/Co‐N‐C/Cu hybrid electrodes exhibit outstanding electrocatalysis in 1 m KOH, with a negligible onset overpotential and a low Tafel slope of 47 mV dec −1 . They only take overpotential of as low as 230 mV to reach current density of 1000 mA cm −2 . When coupled with their electro‐oxidized derivatives that mediate efficiently the oxygen evolution reaction, the alkaline water electrolyzer can achieve ≈100 mA cm −2 at 1.622 V in 1 m KOH electrolyte, ≈0.343 V lower than the device constructed with commercially available Pt/C and Ir/C nanocatalysts immobilized on nanoporous Cu electrodes.