Recent advances in engineering cobalt carbonate hydroxide for enhanced alkaline water splitting

Developing cheap and efficient electrocatalysts to realize sustainable hydrogen production through electrolytic water splitting is urgently demanded for facing global energy and environmental crisis. Recently, nanostructured cobalt carbonate hydroxide has been regarded as one of the attractive candidates for electrocatalysts in alkaline electrolytes owing to its low price, chemically versatile structure, and high durability. Nevertheless, the industrial utilization of cobalt carbonate hydroxide for water splitting is hindered by the low electrical conductivity and lack of active sites for hydrogen evolution. Consequently, in this review, the engineering strategies for activating cobalt carbonate hydroxide towards enhanced alkaline water splitting are summarized, which mainly includes morphology/support engineering, elemental doping, heterostructure engineering. Moreover, reaction mechanisms and compared performances of the cobalt carbonate hydroxide-based nanomaterials for HER/OER are comprehensively reviewed. At last, comprehensive summaries and outlook in developing cobalt carbonate hydroxide as a superior electrocatalyst are also discussed. We believe that this review will be helpful for scientists to develop promising electrocatalyst for water splitting.