Boosting the electrocatalytic durability and full water splitting efficiency of CoMoO4via strategic CeO2 decoration

Abstract

Fabricating hybrid electrocatalysts with optimized full water splitting performance is crucial for hydrogen generation by means of water electrolysis. In this investigation, a CoMoO₄/CeO₂-CP hybrid structure was engineered for alkaline water splitting through a facile strategy: CoMoO₄ nanosheets were obtained by hydrothermal synthesis combined with further heat treatment, then CeO₂ nanoparticles were electro-deposited on their surface. The decoration of CoMoO₄ nanosheets with CeO₂ nanoparticles enabled the catalyst to exhibit excellent bifunctional performance in 1 M KOH, achieving low overpotentials for the HER (114 mV) and OER (305 mV) at 10 mA cm⁻². Furthermore, this CoMoO₄/CeO₂-based electrolyzer required 1.66 V to achieve 10 mA cm⁻² during overall water electrolysis evaluation. Notably, the optimized hybrid catalyst demonstrated significantly enhanced long-term stability in alkaline media.