Hierarchical NiCo2 O4 Hollow Microcuboids as Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Overall Water-Splitting

Xuehui Gao; Hongxiu Zhang; Quanguo Li; Xuegong Yu; Zhanglian Hong; Xingwang Zhang; Chengdu Liang; Zhan Lin

doi:10.1002/anie.201600525

Hierarchical NiCo2 O4 Hollow Microcuboids as Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Overall Water-Splitting

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2016 May 17;55(21):6290-4. doi: 10.1002/anie.201600525. Epub 2016 Apr 8.

Authors

Xuehui Gao¹, Hongxiu Zhang², Quanguo Li², Xuegong Yu¹, Zhanglian Hong¹, Xingwang Zhang³, Chengdu Liang², Zhan Lin⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China.
² Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China. xwzhang@zju.edu.cn.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China. zhanlin@zju.edu.cn.

PMID: 27061909
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201600525

Abstract

Bifunctional electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline electrolyte may improve the efficiency of overall water splitting. Nickel cobaltite (NiCo2 O4 ) has been considered a promising electrode material for the OER. However, NiCo2 O4 that can be used as an electrocatalyst in HER has not been studied yet. Herein, we report self-assembled hierarchical NiCo2 O4 hollow microcuboids for overall water splitting including both the HER and OER reactions. The NiCo2 O4 electrode shows excellent activity toward overall water splitting, with 10 mA cm(-2) water-splitting current reached by applying just 1.65 V and 20 mA cm(-2) by applying just 1.74 V across the two electrodes. The synthesis of NiCo2 O4 microflowers confirms the importance of structural features for high-performance overall water splitting.

Keywords: NiCo2O4; electrochemistry; solvothermal synthesis; water splitting.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't