Microwave assisted synthesis of cobalt-doped copper selenite nanorice as bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting

In the research and development of noble-metal free catalysts, copper-based materials such as copper selenite have shown interest as electrocatalysts to drive the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in basic medium, however their Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity is still unexplored. Therefore, we have performed the synthesis of cobalt doped copper selenite nanoparticles which can robustly and effectively do electrocatalysis for both the OER and HER in basic medium electrolyte. The novelty lies in the fact that microwave synthesis procedure utilizing oxidizing agent as a key precursor is entirely new, this particular material was never employed in water splitting and catalyst need very low amount of binder. The results revealed that cobalt doped copper selenite have a relatively lower starting potential and a higher current density due to the synergistic effects of a large active area, quick charge, mass transport, and a three-dimensional conducting path, having OER and HER overpotentials of 359 mV and 226 mV at 10 mA/cm2 current densities, respectively. We found a novel doped structure featuring porous surfaces and distinctive rice like morphology which facilitate an efficient electron transportation during the water splitting thereby illustrating an exceptional performance of this system along with rapid synthesis and lower costs.