Multifunctional Iron-Cobalt Heterostructure (FeCoHS) Electrocatalyst: Accelerating Sustainable Hydrogen Generation through Efficient Water Electrolysis and Urea Oxidation

Abstract

The urgent need to address escalating environmental pollution and energy management challenges has underscored the importance of developing efficient, cost-effective, and multifunctional electrocatalysts. To address this, we developed an eco-friendly, cost-effective, and multifunctional electrocatalyst using a solvothermal synthesis approach. Due to the merits of the ideal synthesis FeCoHS@NF electrocatalyst exhibits multifunctional activity like OER, HER, OWS, UOR, OUS, and overall alkaline seawater splitting, with a required potential of 1.48, 0.130, 1.59, 1.23, 1.40, and 1.54 V @ 10 mA/cm2, respectively. Moreover, the electrolyser only required 1.40 V at 10 mA/cm2 for energy-saving urea-assisted hydrogen production, which was 190 mV lower than the alkaline water electrolyser. The FeCoHS@NF electrolyzer-combined alkaline sewage and seawater purification setup led to the industrial-environmental revolution by producing pure green hydrogen and water. The ultrastability of FeCoHS@NF electrocatalyst for industrial application was confirmed by using chronopotentiometry at 10 and 100 mA/cm2 over 110 h for OER, HER, UOR, and overall water splitting. Producing hydrogen using the FeCoHS@NF electrocatalyst in alkaline sewage water and seawater offers multiple benefits: it generates renewable hydrogen energy, purifies wastewater, reduces environmental pollutants, and lowers both the cost and electricity consumption of the electrolyser system.