Bi-Functional Fe3O4/Au/CoFe-LDH Sandwich-Structured Electrocatalyst for Asymmetrical Electrolyzer with Low Operation Voltage

The reduction of the overall electrolysis potential to produce hydrogen is a critical target for fabricating applicable hydrogen evolution cells. Sandwich-structured Fe3O4/Au/CoFe-LDH is synthesized via a spontaneous galvanic displacement reaction. A series of structural characterizations indicate the successful synthesis of sandwich-structured Fe3O4/Au/CoFe-LDH electrocatalyst. The trace amount of Au laying between Fe3O4 and CoFe-LDH significantly improves the intrinsic conductivity and catalytic activity of the composite catalyst. In-depth investigations indicate that Fe3O4 and CoFe-LDH are responsible for the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) whereas Au is responsible for the electrocatalytic glucose oxidation (GOR). The electrocatalytic tests indicate Fe3O4/Au/CoFe-LDH offers excellent electrocatalytic activity and stability for both HER and GOR, even at high current density (i.e., 1000 mA cm(-2)). Further electrochemistry examinations in a two-compartment cell with a two-electrode configuration show that Fe3O4/Au/CoFe-LDH can significantly reduce the overall potential for this asymmetrical cell, with only 0.48 and 0.89 V required to achieve 10 mA cm(-2) current density with and without iR-compensation, which is the lowest overall potential requirement ever reported. The design and synthesis of Fe3O4/Au/CoFe-LDH pave a new way to electrochemically produce hydrogen and gluconate under extremely low cell voltage, which can readily match with a variety of solar cells.

Automated summary

The sandwich-structured Fe3O4/Au/CoFe-LDH exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity and stability for both hydrogen evolution and glucose oxidation reactions. The composite catalyst shows promising performance even at high current densities.