Preparation of lignin derived carbon encapsulating Molybdenum/Nickel bifunctional materials and their application in overall water splitting

The slow-kinetics of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and high energy barrier of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) lead to significant overpotentials, limiting the application of water electrolysis. In this study, a transition metal compound and alloy catalyst encapsulated in lignin-derived carbon (Mo 2 C/Ni 2 Mo 3 N/MoNi 4 @SLAC, abbreviated as MoNi@SLAC) was designed and synthesized. The composition and structural characteristics of the catalyst were confirmed through various characterization techniques, including XRD, XPS, SEM and TEM. In alkaline electrolyte, when current density achieves 10 mA cm −2 , the catalyst exhibited the HER and OER overpotentials are 185 and 283 mV, respectively. Stability tests demonstrated its excellent durability. The synergistic effect among the compounds significantly reduced the overpotentials during the electrocatalytic process, while the protective role of the carbon substrate effectively enhanced the prolonged determinacy of material. This work provides a new tactics and theoretical foundation for the devisal and stability optimization of efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts.