Superhydrophilic/superaerophobic CoP/CoMoO4 multi-level hierarchitecture electrocatalyst for urea-assisted hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline media

Jingwen Ma; Tianai Zhang; Junbin Li; Ying Tian; Chunwen Sun

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2024.04.200

Superhydrophilic/superaerophobic CoP/CoMoO₄ multi-level hierarchitecture electrocatalyst for urea-assisted hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline media

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2024 May 1:669:43-52. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.04.200. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jingwen Ma¹, Tianai Zhang², Junbin Li², Ying Tian², Chunwen Sun²

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: jingwen-ma@cumtb.edu.cn.
² School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China.

PMID: 38703581
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.04.200

Abstract

Utilizing the thermodynamically favorable urea oxidation reaction instead of the anodic oxygen precipitation reaction is an alternative pathway for the energy-saving hydrogen production. Therefore, it is significant to explore advanced electrocatalysts for both HER and UOR. In this work, a dendritic heteroarchitectures of 2D CoMoO₄ nanosheets deposited on 1D CoP nanoneedles (CoP/CoMoO₄-CC) was fabricated as bifunctional electrocatalyst. 1D CoP nanostructure with fast charge transport pathways and 2D CoMoO₄ nanostructure with large specific surface area and short paths for electron/mass transport. The unique morphology endows the superhydrophilic and superaerophobic properties, allowing for the rapid contact with the reactants and rapid removal of surface-generated gases. As a result, the CoP/CoMoO₄-CC shows efficient bifunctional activity. This work offers a new avenue to rationally design bifunctional electrocatalysts for large-scale practical hydrogen production.

Keywords: Hydrogen evolution reaction; Superaerophobicity; Superhydrophilicity; Urea oxidation reaction.