Superaerophobic/Superhydrophilic Multidimensional Electrode System for High-Current-Density Water Electrolysis

Abstract

Water electrolysis is emerging as a promising renewable-energy technology for the green production of hydrogen, which is a representative and reliable clean energy source. From economical and industrial perspectives, the development of earth-abundant non-noble metal-based and bifunctional catalysts, which can simultaneously exhibit high catalytic activities and stabilities for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), is critical; however, to date, these types of catalysts have not been constructed, particularly, for high-current-density water electrolysis at the industrial level. This study developed a heterostructured zero-dimensional (0D)-one-dimensional (1D) PrBa_0.5Sr_0.5Co_1.5Fe_0.5O_5+δ (PBSCF)-Ni₃S₂ as a self-supported catalytic electrode via interface and morphology engineering. This unique heterodimensional nanostructure of the PBSCF-Ni₃S₂ system demonstrates superaerophobic/superhydrophilic features and maximizes the exposure of the highly active heterointerface, endowing the PBSCF-Ni₃S₂ electrode with outstanding electrocatalytic performances in both HER and OER and exceptional operational stability during the overall water electrolysis at high current densities (500 h at 500 mA cm^-2). This study provides important insights into the development of catalytic electrodes for efficient and stable large-scale hydrogen production systems.