Recent advances in engineering cobalt carbonate hydroxide for enhanced alkaline water splitting

Developing cheap and efficient electrocatalysts to realize sustainable hydrogen production through elec-trolytic water splitting is urgently demanded for facing global energy and environmental crisis. Recently, nanostructured cobalt carbonate hydroxide has been regarded as one of the attractive candidates for electrocatalysts in alkaline electrolytes owing to its low price, chemically versatile structure, and high durability. Nevertheless, the industrial utilization of cobalt carbonate hydroxide for water splitting is hin-dered by the low electrical conductivity and lack of active sites for hydrogen evolution. Consequently, in this review, the engineering strategies for activating cobalt carbonate hydroxide towards enhanced alkaline water splitting are summarized, which mainly includes morphology/support engineering, elemental doping, heterostructure engineering. Moreover, reaction mechanisms and compared performances of the cobalt carbonate hydroxide-based nanomaterials for HER/OER are comprehensively reviewed. At last, comprehensive summaries and outlook in developing cobalt carbonate hydroxide as a superior electro-catalyst are also discussed. We believe that this review will be helpful for scientists to develop promising electrocatalyst for water splitting. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Developing cheap and efficient electrocatalysts for sustainable hydrogen production through electrolytic water splitting is urgently needed to address global energy and environmental challenges. This review summarizes engineering strategies to enhance alkaline water splitting using cobalt carbonate hydroxide, including morphology/support engineering, elemental doping, and heterostructure engineering. The review also comprehensively discusses reaction mechanisms and performance comparisons of cobalt carbonate hydroxide-based nanomaterials for HER/OER, as well as providing a comprehensive summary and outlook on the development of cobalt carbonate hydroxide as a superior electrocatalyst.