Under-water “Superaerophobic” interface phosphorus-induced CoFe-LDH decorated wood-based porous carbon: An advanced alkaline bifunctional electrode for high-performance overall water splitting

Abstract

The overall water splitting represents a green and sustainable technology to converting renewable energy sources into green hydrogen. The preparation of electrodes with superaerophobic properties can enhance the electrocatalytic performance by accelerating the gas escape process. Herein, a novel P-induced doping CoFe-layered double hydroxide decorated carbonized wood (P-CoFe-LDH/CW) electrode with superaerophobic characteristic was synthesized via a facile hydrothermal and phosphorization method. In particular, the successful induction doping of P on CoFe-LDH optimizes the adsorption energy of H_ads. Interestingly, the P-CoFe-LDH/CW electrode constructs a three-phase interface structure with supergasphobic properties, thus facilitating the entire catalytic process by accelerating bubble escape. At a current density of 10 mA cm⁻², the P-CoFe-LDH/CW electrode demonstrated low overpotential for both hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions in an alkaline electrolyte. Additionally, the P-CoFe-LDH/CW acted as both cathode and anode to facilitate efficient water splitting at a low cell voltage of 1.498 V to attain 10  mA cm⁻². These findings suggest that utilizing wood-derived carbon matrix and CoFe-LDH-based catalysts could lead to new developments in this field. These findings suggest that green, renewable, and low-cost wood-derived carbon electrodes provide a justification for overall water splitting bifunctional electrodes, and facilitate energy-efficient industrial-grade hydrogen production.