Exploring the Potential of Copper Palladium Nanocube Electrocatalysts for Enhancing the Overall Water Splitting Performance

Abstract

A viable method of sourcing clean, sustainable fuels that can address energy constraints and sustainability issues has been identified as the engineering of affordable and structured electrocatalysts for hydrogen and oxygen evolution processes. The current research work is engineering of a CuPd nanocube coated on nickel foam as an electrocatalyst utilized for bifunctional applications. The overpotentials of 131 and 330 mV vs RHE was attained for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 . It was crucial to observe that the catalyst could reduce the overpotential by 63.5% with bare for HER and by 31% with bare for the OER. In the realm of catalysis, where originality and refinement converge, the nanocube morphology stands as evidence to the boundless possibilities of materials design. The designed electrocatalyst exhibits efficient activity and notable durability up to 50 h in the given potential range in an exceptionally caustic alkaline environment. The finding serves as an enticing method to amend the catalyst surface structure and enhance its catalytic capabilities.