Bimetallic Ni−Mo nitride@C3N4 for highly active and stable water catalysis

Non-noble metal electrocatalysts for water cracking have excellent prospects for development of sustainable and clean energy. Highly efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are very important for various energy storage and conversion systems such as water splitting devices and metal-air batteries. This study prepared a NiMo4@C3N4 catalyst for OER and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by simple methods. The catalyst exhibited an excellent OER activity based on the response at a suitable temperature. To drive a current density of 10 mA·cm−2 for OER and HER, the overpotentials required for NiMo4@C3N4-800 (prepared at 800 °C) were 259 and 118 mV, respectively. A two-electrode system using NiMo4@C3N4-800 needed a very low cell potential of 1.572 V to reach a current density of 10 mA·cm−2. In addition, this catalyst showed excellent durability after long-term tests. It was seen to have good catalytic activity and broad application prospects.