Multimetallic Ni–Mo/Cu nanowires as nonprecious and efficient full water splitting catalyst

Abstract

In this study, excellent full water splitting achieved with a rationally structured multimetallic Ni–Mo/Cu nanowire free-standing electrode prepared via scalable electrochemistry is reported. By combining a conductive nanostructured scaffold and highly active outer layers, the as-prepared Ni–Mo/Cu nanowires deliver superior hydrogen and oxygen evolution performance. To achieve a 20 mA cm⁻² catalytic current in a 1 M KOH electrolyte, the NM-CNW requires an overpotential of only 152 mV for hydrogen evolution and 280 mV for oxygen evolution. When assembled into a full electrolyzer, the Ni–Mo/Cu nanowires can drive full water splitting at nearly 100% faradaic efficiency steadily up to 12 h without any significant performance decay, and afford a catalytic current close to that of the state-of-the-art Pt–RuO₂ system over long-term operation.