The unified ordered mesoporous carbons supported Co-based electrocatalysts for full water splitting

Abstract Co-based electrocatalysts were prepared by facilely low-temperature multi-step calcination using ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) and cobalt salt as the precursors. According to the chemical reaction of cobalt compound, the calcined product of each step could be used as different catalysts, which could complete the full water splitting in alkaline solution together. The introduction of ordered mesoporous carbon not only make the morphology was well inherited, but also enhanced the catalytic activity. The OMCs/CoP exhibited overpotential of 134 mV in acidic media and 143 mV in basic media with a current density of 10 mA cm −2 for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). While, in basic solution, the OMCs/Co 3 O 4 had an overpotential value of 350 mV at 10 mA cm −2 for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Moreover, the different Co-based electrocatalysts were assembled into one system for the full water splitting in 1 M KOH solution. This work provided a facile and efficient candidate for water splitting.