Synergistic coupling of Ni3ZnC0.7 decorated with homogeneous multimetal CoNiCuFe nitrogen-codoped carbon matrix as high-entropy catalysts for efficient overall water splitting

Due to unique electrical properties and high catalytic efficiency, transition metal nitrogen-codoped carbide (TM-N-C) has attracted tremendous interest as a multifunctional electrocatalyst for water splitting. Unlike traditional single-source modification, herein a novel pomegranate-like high-entropy (HE) elec-trocatalyst of Ni3ZnC0.7 decorated with homogeneous multimetal (Fe, Co, Cu, and Ni) nitrogen-codoped carbon matrix (Ni3ZnC0.7@CoNiCuFe-NC) is reported. It can be implemented by the simple thermal annealing method of multimetal codoped zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF). Benefiting from the syn-ergistic effects of plentiful TM-N-C species, template effect of ZIF and distinct nanoporous structure, HE electrocatalyst Ni3ZnC0.7@CoNiCuFe-NC exhibits outstanding electrocatalytic performance. When ap-plied in strong alkaline electrolyte (1.0 M KOH), the overpotentials of Ni3ZnC0.7@CoNiCuFe-NC present as low as 202 and 97 mV for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at 10 mA cm(-2) current density. Surprisingly as a bifunctional electrode, it can achieve the low cell voltage of 1.53 V at 10 mA cm -2 current density for overall water splitting, which is comparable to conventional IrO2||Pt/C electrode and superior to the recently reported analogous bifunctional catalysts. Thus, the work proposes the direction for the rational design of homogeneous distribution of TM-N-C material for water splitting in the green hydrogen energy industry.(c) 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.