We present the synthesis and characterization of an efficient and low cost solar-driven electrolyzer consisting of Earth-abundant materials. The trimetallic NiFeMo electrocatalyst takes the shape of nanometer-sized flakes anchored to a fully carbon-based current collector comprising a nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube network, which in turn is grown on a carbon fiber paper support. This catalyst electrode contains solely Earth-abundant materials, and the carbon fiber support renders it effective despite a low metal content. Notably, a bifunctional catalyst–electrode pair exhibits a low total overpotential of 450 mV to drive a full water-splitting reaction at a current density of 10 mA cm<sup>–2</sup> and a measured hydrogen Faradaic efficiency of ∼100%. We combine the catalyst–electrode pair with solution-processed perovskite solar cells to form a lightweight solar-driven water-splitting device with a high peak solar-to-fuel conversion efficiency of 13.8%.
Joakim Ekspong, Christian Larsen, Jonas Stenberg, Wai Ling Kwong, Jia Wang, Jinbao Zhang, Erik M. J. Johansson, Johannes Messinger, Ludvig Edman, and Thomas Wågberg
CC BY 4.0
<a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c03565">https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c03565</a>