Structure engineering of electrodeposited NiMo films for highly efficient and durable seawater splitting

Abstract Two hybrid NiMo films on nickel foam are synthesized by facile electrodeposition in different electrolytes as hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrodes, affording superior catalytic activity and corrosion resistance in overall seawater splitting, only a cell voltage of 1.563 V is require to reach the current density of 10 mA cm−2. The enhanced intrinsic catalytic activity and reaction kinetics in both HER and OER are mainly attributed to the synergistic effect between Ni and Mo species as well as the strong electronic interaction between Ni and Mo atoms. Experimental and computational results reveal that NiO species favor the initial water dissociation pathway and facilitate the subsequent H adsorption/desorption for NiMoO4 in HER process. The adsorption of OH* intermediates is also optimized by tuning the Ni−O covalency to achieve an improved OER kinetics.