Synthesis of CuMoS micro-rods material as efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting

In oxygen evolution reactions (OER) metal sulfides are the subject of extensive research. Copper-molybdenum sulfides (CuMoS) that can be made a simple hydrothermal treatment are designed to reduce catalyst costs even more. Here, we demonstrate that binder free electrode composed of micro-rod structure copper-molybdenum sulfides on nickel foam (CuMoS/NF) can be employed as an active and robust bifunctional electrocatalyst for water splitting. CuMoS/NF catalyst displays an overpotential for OER of 358 mV (121 mV dec(-1)) and HER of 129 mV (101 mV dec(-1)) at current density of 10 mA cm(-2). CuMoS/NF is stable for 60 hours with potential deviations in OER and HER of 2.8 % and 3.2 %, respectively. The active bifunctional CuMoS/NF electrode combination helps to fabricate a water electrolyser with 10 mA cm(-2) current density at 1.65 V. CuMoS/NF//CuMoS/NF shows good stability over 60 hours with a potential deviation of 2.7 %. The earth's abundant non-precious metal-based electrode, and solar cell delivered continuous hydrogen and oxygen (1.65 V), making it possible to produce a significant quantity of hydrogen at a low-cost and on a large-scale.