Efficient Electrocatalytic Overall Water Splitting on a Copper-Rich Alloy: An Electrochemical Study

The development of active, durable, cost-effective, and stable electrocatalysts is an urgent need for various industrial fields including renewable energy systems. The state-of-the-art catalysts suffer from poor water splitting activity in alkaline media due to their sluggish kinetics, high cost, and scarcity on earth to be scaled up. Herein, we present an electrochemical analysis of a nanostructured electrocatalyst based on a face-centered cubic (FCC) copper-rich Cu–Ni–Fe–Cr–Co alloy with a quasi-spherical morphology electrodeposited on a highly porous nickel substrate. Electrochemical studies determine the enhanced electrocatalytic activity toward both hydrogen and oxygen reactions in an alkaline medium, which has been induced by the synergistic effect of alloy metals. It is shown that the performance of the presented electrocatalyst for both the oxygen evolution reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction is superior to the recently reported electrocatalysts for overall water splitting. Benefiting from its long-term durability, the material can pave the way to developing high-performance electrocatalysts for full electrochemical water splitting.