Biomass-Derived Catalysts with Dual Functions for Electrochemical Water Splitting

Wangchuang Zhu, Xinghua Zhang, Qi Zhang, Lungang Chen, Xiuzheng Zhuang () and Longlong Ma ()
Additional contact information
Wangchuang Zhu: Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Xinghua Zhang: Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Qi Zhang: Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Lungang Chen: Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Xiuzheng Zhuang: Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Longlong Ma: Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-18

Abstract: With the continuous consumption of fossil energy and the related environmental problems, clean energy, especially the hydrogen energy-derived water electrolysis, has attracted wide attention. However, as a result of the high energy consumption of water electrolysis and the limitations of single-function catalysts, there is an urgent need for cheap and simple-to-make bifunctional catalysts. In this work, based on the NiFe-LDH that is usually used for OER (Oxygen Evolution Reaction), doping of heteroatoms was carried out and a bifunctional catalyst could be then prepared using biomass as the carbon source. The preparation of catalyst precursors and in situ reduction were performed through the coupling process of hydrothermal and pyrolysis to enhance the electrolytic activity of the catalyst. Results showed that the overpotentials required to reach a current density of 10 mA·cm −2 for the HER and OER processes were 305.2 mV and 310.4 mV, respectively, which are superior to the commercial catalysts. In the subsequent characterization, the structural characteristics of the catalyst support and their structure–activity correlation with active metals were systematically investigated by TEM, XRD, and XPS analysis, providing mechanistic insights into the catalytic behavior. The basic catalytic mechanisms of HER and OER were also obtained: the HER process was due to the formation of a Ni 3 Fe alloy structure during catalyst preparation, which changed the electronic structure of the catalyst, while the OER process was induced by the formation of a NiOOH intermediate. The research results are expected to provide new ideas and data support for the preparation of bifunctional catalysts.

Keywords: biomass-derived carbon; heteroatomic doping; bifunctional catalyst; water electrolysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/14/3592/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/14/3592/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:14:p:3592-:d:1696935

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().