MoO3@Activated Carbon derived from Wheat Straw as a Bi-Functional Electrocatalyst for Efficient Water Splitting /

Abstract

Hydrogen is often seen as an attractive alternative to traditional fossil fuel sources since it is seen as a highly promising and environmentally sustainable energy carrier. Water splitting is a low-cost method for producing hydrogen that can be accomplished through the use of light or electricity. An effective catalyst is required to lower the considerable overpotential value produced by the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) and the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) during water splitting. In this study, Wheat Straw-based activated carbon (AC) and MoO3 loaded on AC, referred to as MoO3@AC, were employed as electrocatalysts on nickel foam for the purpose of water splitting. The synthesis of the electrocatalyst MoO3@AC involved the utilization of a 1:1 ratio of AC to MoO3. The resulting electrocatalyst, MoO3@AC, demonstrated remarkable performance in terms of overpotential for the HER, measuring at 86.4 mV, and for the OER, measuring at 146.6 mV. Additionally, the electrocatalyst exhibited favourable tafel slopes of 90 mV/dec and 104 mV/dec for the HER and OER, respectively.