Engineering of novel bimetallic organic framework intercalated MXene for energy-saving hydrogen production

Abstract

A bimetallic organic framework decorated with Ti<inf>3</inf>C<inf>2</inf>T<inf>x</inf> (denoted as CuCo-MOF/Ti<inf>3</inf>C<inf>2</inf>T<inf>x</inf>) was successfully constructed by a solvothermal method. The physicochemical and electrochemical properties of systematically optimized catalysts was applied for electrocatalytic hydrogen production via urea electrooxidation reaction (UOR), achieving a current density of 10 mA cm−2 at a cell potential of 1.38 V. The resulting electrocatalyst demonstrates an efficient bifunctionality to facilitate both the cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) (180 mV vs RHE) and anodic urea electrooxidation reaction (UOR) (1.39 V vs RHE). Replacing the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with UOR significantly lowers the overall cell voltage, enabling energy-efficient hydrogen generation from toxic urea waste.