Cu2O–Cu Hybrid Foams as High-Performance Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Media

Here 3D Cu2O–Cu hybrid foams are developed as high-performance electrocatalysts for OER in alkaline solution. The hybrid foams are composed of Cu2O–Cu dendrites with high surface area and high-speed electronic transmission networks, and they can provide fast transportation and short diffusion path for electrolyte and evolved O2 bubbles. As the special surface and structure effects, the Cu2O–Cu hybrid foams exhibit low onset overpotential of ∼250 mV, small Tafel slope of 67.52 mV dec–1, and high durability over 50 h at a current density of 10 mA cm–2 for OER in alkaline solution. The results of this study may be particularly beneficial for the development of a type of hybrid porous foam electrocatalysts for the electrochemical process in which at least one gas-phase is involved, such as H2 or O2 evolution reaction and O2 or CO2 electroreduction reaction.