Facile fabrication of NiFeB deposited flexible carbon cloth electrode towards overall water splitting in alkaline and saline solutions

Water electrolysis has boomed as a sustainable tool for greener production of hydrogen, nonetheless the expensive technology is dragging its flourishment. Although it is being addressed by the development of cost effective and efficient electrocatalyst for the electrolytic cell, the use of pure water feed stock and lack of reactor friendly electrode is still challenging. Meanwhile the development of the reactor friendly corrosion resistive flexible electrode capable of sea water splitting can further reduce the overall production cost. Herein, we have demonstrated a straightforward and activation-free electroless deposition approach to fabricate the reactor friendly self-standing flexible electrode. The NiFeB deposited carbon cloth electrode was obtained by the sonication assisted metal ion adsorption and reduction dip and coat method without the use of expensive activators or sensitizers. The as fabricated [email protected] exhibit a promising oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by achieving 20 mA cm−2 at an overpotential of 255 mV and 241 mV respectively with high durability (24 h). Moreover, the electrode retains the activity under various deformation conditions as well as in alkaline saline electrolyte. Additionally, it exhibits appreciable activity towards overall water splitting as it requires 1.69 V for 10 mA cm−2 current density. Consequently, its encouraging activity and high stability even in harsh condition could carry forward the great potential for practical saline water splitting.