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A Simple and Efficient Non-Noble Cathode Catalyst Based on Carbon Hollow Nanocapsules Containing Cobalt-Based Materials for Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzer

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Mohamed MamloukORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).


Abstract

© 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.An efficient approach for fabrication of non-noble metal-based electrocatalyst is desirable for designing the energy storage and conversion devices in real-world usages due to low cost and excellent catalytic properties. The preparation of hollow carbon capsules (HCC) containing cobalt (Co)-based electrocatalyst is reported by a simple synthesis process without using templates for the first time. Initially, cobalt phenylphosphonate (Co-MOF) nanorods are fabricated through a simple hydrothermal approach. The as-formed Co-MOF is covered with a thin coating of polydopamine (DP-Co-MOF) through chemical polymerization of dopamine in Tris-HCl (pH 8.5). The DP-Co-MOF is used as self-degraded template for the formation of HCC under pyrolysis. The formation mechanism and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity of HCC are investigated. The hollow structure derived under N2 exhibits a low overpotential (295 mV at 100 mA cm−2) with excellent stability (90.98%) for 150 h, which is further verified by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Finally, the designed anion exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolyzer based on C─Co─N as cathode delivers a current density of 500 mA cm−2 (at 2.19 V) and 1000 mAcm−2 (at 2.33 V) in 1.0 m KOH at 60 °C. The fabricated new Co-based electrocatalyst is highly beneficial for the fabrication of cost-effective and high-performance AEMWEs.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Radhakrishnan S, Ramakrishnan S, Jayaraj SK, Mamlouk M, Kim B-S

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Small

Year: 2025

Volume: 21

Issue: 9

Print publication date: 05/03/2025

Online publication date: 03/02/2025

Acceptance date: 02/04/2018

Date deposited: 18/02/2025

ISSN (print): 1613-6810

ISSN (electronic): 1613-6829

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Inc

URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202411019

DOI: 10.1002/smll.202411019

Data Access Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request


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Funding

Funder referenceFunder name
EPSRC
EP/W005204/1
UKRI

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