All-In-One Perovskite Catalyst: Smart Controls of Architecture and Composition toward Enhanced Oxygen/Hydrogen Evolution Reactions

A conventional water electrolyzer consists of two electrodes, each of which is embedded with a costly and rare electrocatalyst, typically IrO₂/C for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and Pt/C for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), respectively. HER and OER electrocatalysts usually require very different pH values to keep them stable and active. Thus, the development of earth-abundant nonprecious metal catalysts for both HER and OER is of great importance to practical applications. This work reports the results of integrated water electrolysis using the hybrids of electrospun La_0.5(Ba_0.4Sr_0.4Ca_0.2)_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_3–δ (L-0.5) perovskite nanorods attached to reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets as bifunctional electrodes. Via rationalizing the composition and morphology of L-0.5/rGO nanohybrids, excellent catalytic performance and stability toward OER and HER are achieved in alkaline media. The operating voltage of integrated L-0.5/rGO electrolyzer is tested to be 1.76 V at 50 mA cm^–2, which is close to that of the commercially available IrO₂/C-Pt/C couple (1.76 V @ 50 mA cm^–2). Such a bifunctional electrocatalyst could be extended toward practical electrolysis use with low expanse and high efficiency. More generally, the protocol described here broadens our horizons in terms of the designs and the diverse functionalities of catalysts for use in various applications.