A recent study led by Prof. WANG Qi's research group from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences successfully synthesized iron and nitrogen co-doped CoFeP-N nanowires for high-efficiency electrocatalytic water splitting.
Their findings, published in Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy, demonstrate the synthesis of bifunctional CoFeP-N nanowires for both hydrogen and oxygen evolution.
Hydrogen production by electrolysis uses water as the only raw material to achieve a closed cycle of hydrogen gas with zero carbon emissions, which is considered to be the greenest and most sustainable method. However, high costs limit the wide application of hydrogen production by electrolysis, requiring more cost-effective and efficient catalysts. Due to its low cost and high catalytic performance, transition metal-based nanomaterials, which are abundant on Earth, have been proven to have broad prospects as excellent electrocatalysts.
In this study, researchers introduced various heteroatoms into the carrier to form a transition metal-based nanocomposite using a three-step synthesis method of hydrothermal phosphatizing and low temperature plasma treatment. They successfully prepared bifocal CoFeP-N nanowires for hydrogen and oxygen evolution to achieve synergistic interactions with the catalyst.
This project uses doping engineering, interface engineering, and plasma treatment to make the performance of transition metal catalysts, potentially surpassing precious metal catalysts, while maintaining good cycling stability. This helps us reduce production costs and promote industrial upgrading.
After preparing CoFeP-N catalyst into an electrolysis cell, its electrocatalytic water splitting performance can exceed that of commercial precious metal electrolysis cells under the same conditions. In addition, it can work continuously for more than 100 hours without obvious performance degradation.
This work presents an effective method for preparing transition metal based bifunctional electrocatalysts, opening new avenues for the production of efficient, stable, and affordable advanced and sustainable energy materials.
Schematic diagram of efficient electrocatalytic water splitting by CoFeP-N nanowires (Image by WANG Ruiqi)
Theoretical calculations illustrate the efficient electrocatalytic water splitting mechanism of CoFeP-N nanowires (Image by WANG Ruiqi)
