Mesoporous LiTiPO4F nanoparticles: A new stable and high performance bifunctional electrocatalyst for electrochemical water splitting

Design of efficient and stable bifunctional electro-catalysts made of non-precious metals is a field of intense research in order to bring hydrogen production from laboratory to industrial scale. TiO2 is considered as electrochemically inactive may be due to the poor surface reactivity. Manipulating the electronic structure and stability of TiO2 to work under realistic conditions is crucial for the optimal production of hydrogen and oxygen. Herein, new class of titanium compound, LiTiPO4F, has been identified as a water splitting electrocatalyst. The resulted new mesoporous LiTiPO4F has been used as an efficient bifunctional electro-catalyst, to catalyse HER and OER, in alkaline medium, for the first time. The proposed LiTiPO4F catalyst demonstrated an ultrahigh electrocatalytic activity and stability towards HER and OER. The proposed mesoporous LiTiPO4F delivers eta OER, 100 mA cm(-2) = 310 mV with Tafel slope of 93 mV dec(-1) and eta HER, -100 mA cm-2 = -290 mV with small Tafel slope of 48 mV dec(-1), revealing good OER/HER activity.

Automated summary

A new class of titanium compound, LiTiPO4F, has been identified as a water splitting electrocatalyst, exhibiting ultrahigh electrocatalytic activity and stability for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline medium. This mesoporous LiTiPO4F catalyst shows good OER/HER activity with low Tafel slopes, making it a promising bifunctional electro-catalyst.