In recent years, the search for non-noble metal-based
bi-functional
electrode materials with excellent activity and stability for overall
water splitting has led the energy field research toward transition-metal
(TM)-based materials that are abundant and comparatively stable over
a wide range of pH. Herein, a series of late first-row TM molybdates
(TMMo, TM = Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) were studied for alkaline water splitting,
where the materials were synthesized through a surfactant confinement
reaction via the hydrothermal process. The microscopic analyses showed
varied morphology like, fusiform, forest, disks, and rugby ball with
multivalency and monoclinic/triclinic crystal structures of the TMMo
materials. Among the molybdates, CoMo, with a larger number of active
sites with an inequivalent atomic position in the cluster and upshifted
d/p bands showed the best activity as both cathode and anode materials
with the overpotentials of 280 and 408 mV, respectively, to obtain
a current density of 100 mA cm–2. CoMo exhibited
faster reaction kinetics over other molybdates as it had lower charge-transfer
resistance with significant stability. Furthermore, a two-electrode
system with CoMo as the cathode and anode provided a lower cell voltage
of 1.86 V at 100 mA cm–2 current density over commercial
electrode materials, indicating CoMo can be an excellent commercial
alternative electrocatalyst for overall water splitting.