Fabrication of highly dispersed Mo₂C coupled with Co-N-C via self-template as bifunctional electrocatalysts

The rational design of a stable non-noble metal electrocatalyst, which has great activity for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), plays a huge role in water splitting, thus far remains an enormous task. Herein, we design and construct a bifunctional N-doped electrocatalyst, which is made up of cobalt (Co) driven from VB12 (Co-containing porphyrin) and nanoscaled molybdenum carbide (Mo₂C) anchored on N-doped carbon (VB12Mo@NC). The synergistic interaction between the Co and Mo₂C nanoparticles in the carbon matrix, along with the high electrochemical surface area of the electrocatalyst greatly altered the catalytic activity of the electrocatalyst for both HER and OER in alkaline medium (1M KOH). At 10 mA cm⁻², the as-synthesized VB12Mo@NC possessed a minimal overpotential of 195 and 396 mV for HER and OER, respectively. Its electrochemical activity is analogous to most hitherto reported Co-Mo-based electrocatalysts for HER and OER. This work provides a simple and productive synthesis scheme for a stable non-noble metal electrocatalyst, which has great activity for water splitting.