Interface-engineered SrFeO3-MXene hybrids as highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

초록

The development of efficient and stable non-precious electrocatalysts is critical for sustainable hydrogen production via water splitting. While SrFeO3 (SFO) perovskites are promising candidates, their practical application is limited by their inherent low electrical conductivity. To address this, we report a rational design strategy that integrates SFO with two-dimensional MXenes (V2C and Cr2C) to form intimately coupled heterostructures. Synthesised SFO@MXene hybrids leverage synergistic effects through the insertion of SFO nanoparticles between the MXenes conductive network for rapid electron transport and enhance intrinsic activity. The resulting materials exhibit exceptional bifunctional activity for the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER/OER). The SFO@Cr2C and SFO@V2C requires the low overpotentials to achieve the designated current for the efficient HER and OER reactions. The SFO@V2C electrolyser requires a low cell voltage of only 1.49 V and exhibits outstanding stability, outperforming the noble-metal electrolyzer (RuO2||Pt/C) which validates their high-performance for energy conversion uses.

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